Prehistoric Earth
by Nathanoraptor
Summary: Join Drew Luczynski and company as they travel back in time and save the amazing animals that time left behind. Their goal? To bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance. Welcome to the Ultimate Wildlife Sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric... Earth. (Gotcha).
1. The Adventure Begins

**Prelude: The Adventure Begins**

On an island off the coast of Florida, a man was running quickly through a hallway filled with many kinds of fossils. His name was Drew Luczynski, and he was in his mid-twenties with dark hair, and hazel eyes. He wore an explorer shirt and glasses. Drew paused for breath and took stock of where he was. The building he was in, and indeed the island itself, was privately owned by a company called Novum. In fact, he was on his way to a meeting with Theodore Richardson, Novum's fantastically wealthy and cherishably eccentric founder and CEO. And he was five minutes late.

Finally, Drew reached the end and opened two giant doors and entered a large business room. Sitting on a desk was a spry, bright-eyed elderly man with a bald head and a goatee, wearing a normal business outfit. On his desk were five small figurines of dinosaurs; Drew identified them as a tyrannosaurus, an ornithocheirus, a woolly mammoth, a rhamphorhynchus and an allosaurus. Theodore looked up from a paper he was reading and smiled, one eyebrow raised, "Ah, Drew, I presume." Drew nodded and breathlessly said, "Sorry, I'm late, Mr Richardson…".

The man gave him a wide grin, "Please, call me Theodore. And, besides, I'm not one for punctuality. However, your friends are already here; please take a seat". He gestured to two other men around Drew's age sitting in the corner. One of them, whose name was Leon, had brown hair and eyes with Filipino skin (his maternal grandfather had been Filipino), and wore glasses. The other, named Adrian, had raven black hair and brown eyes, was lightly tanned and quite well muscled. After catching his breath, Drew sat down in between his two friends and Theodore began to speak.

"Now gentlemen, I believe you are all curious as to why you are here". In response to this, they all nodded their heads; the message Theodore had given them, several days prior, aside from the time and date of the meeting, had merely consisted of a promise of "life-changing events". The only hint had been the subject heading, which had stated, quite simply, "Re: Project Initium". They zoned back in as he continued talking, "As you know, 99.9% of species that have ever existed are extinct. The amazing animals time chose to leave behind. But a notion came to me many years ago; what if we could bring them back? What if they could have a second chance? What if extinction never had to be forever? I wanted to make this a reality, so I spent many years in secret building a machine that could make it possible. Against impossible odds, I succeeded. Gentlemen, behold the time portal". He lifted a remote and clicked a red button, Suddenly, much to their surprise, a blue vortex appeared into the room. The closest thing it could resemble was a satellite chart's image of a tornado, floating gently in mid-air.

Theodore, as if noticing his guests' expression of incredulity, wryly smiled and said "Take a look. If you can't believe me, you can believe your eyes". Drew rolled his eyes and chuckled. Surely this was some sort of prank, but he'd appease the old man anyways. He got up and put his head through the portal. When his head was on the other side, he gasped in shock. On the other side of the portal was Wyoming, 150 million years ago. The Late Jurassic. He could see fern prairies and large conifer forests on the horizon, all in the shadows of towering mountains. And all throughout this panoramic view roamed herds of live dinosaurs; so far away that Drew couldn't identify them. Leon and Adrian soon joined him and had similar reactions. They looked at the never-ending vista for what seemed to be an eternity. Eventually, they pulled their heads out and the portal closed, just as suddenly as it had opened. They all gaped at Theodore, not knowing what to say. Theodore chuckled, "Speechless? My company's board were surprised as well… Some of those squawking toadies were quieter than I've seen them in years!"

"S-so let me get this straight". Drew replied. "You want us to use this portal to revive extinct species". His mind was swimming from the possibilities that arose from something like this; what could they bring back?

Theodore, still wearing his smirk, nodded, "Precisely. Think about it; you can save history's greatest beasts. Use the portal, travel back to prehistoric Earth, and save as many animals as possible. " As he was talking images of animals played through Drew's head. "Large and small, predator and prey, swimmers and flyers, birds, insects, mammals, reptiles…. animals of all different kinds, shapes and sizes. You have the land, the portal, the staff and, most crucially, the funding to make my dream a reality".

"Where do I start?"

Theodore was giving him a wide smile and chortled, "At the very beginning; where else?"

 **-On his very first mission Drew will go back to rescue some of the first vertebrates.**

 **(A school of thumb sized fish swim in a circle)**

 **And meet animals as dangerous as they are bizarre**

 **(A creature resembling a gigantic shrimp eats a smaller animal)**

 **Along with one of the most distinctive animals of the Paleozoic.**

 **(A trilobite lies on the floor of the ocean)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: New Beginnings**


	2. Prehistoric Earth Trailer

Prehistoric Earth Phase One Trailer

Music: Links in the review section.

(15 secs of Leon running from a pack of allosaurs, managing to escape by climbing a ladder. Music stops when he reaches the top)

(3 secs: Leon turns round to see Nikolai clapping his hands.)

Nikolai: Well, that was… impressive.

(Leon smiles sheepishly)

(10 secs, Drew, Leon and Adrian watching the portal open in Theodore's office, accompanied with Theodore saying this).

Theodore: "Use the portal and save history's greatest beasts. Large and small, predator and prey, swimmers and flyers, birds, insects, mammals, reptiles…. animals of all different kinds, shapes and sizes."

(3 secs of an enormous tentacle slapping a camera, accompanied with Leon saying this)

Leon: What the-

Screen goes black

(5 secs of Drew shining his torch on an ornothocone)

(5 secs of the team surrounded by therocephalians)

(2 secs of Drew surrounded by a shoal of Haikouichthys)

(2 secs of a herd of titanosaurs walking through a tropical forest)

(2 secs of the team walking through a swamp, as they are watching giant dragonflies buzz around them)

Jack: It's kind of buggy, isn't it?

(Everyone gives him a look)

Jack: What? It was funny

TEXT: A New Adventure Begins

(5 secs of a herd of dinosaurs stampeding)

Jack: Put it like this, fearless leader… we'll stand by you every single time.

(5 secs of two tyrannosaurs charging at each other)

(3 secs of a herd of dinosaurs roaring at a theropod)

(3 secs of an Australopithecus troop mobbing a big cat)

(2 secs of a Brontoscorpio advancing towards Jack)

(1 sec shot of Drew putting his hand on Zira's head)

(4 secs of Sharptooth chasing Drew)


	3. New Beginnings Part 1

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

It was a big day at Prehistoric Earth. Throughout the square miles of this enormous island, the crew were finishing off the exhibits for everything from giant bugs to dinosaurs. A jeep drove through the partially constructed park, stopped and a broadly grinning Drew Luczynski got out. The island was owned by Novum and, looking at it, they'd picked the right one for the project. The construction crew were currently working on every habitat that extinct wildlife could possibly live. Deciduous forests, plains, tropical rainforests and even coral reefs had been simulated. They could house any animal they wanted.

Drew walked into the aquarium; he needed a meeting with the other high-ranking members of staff about Theodore's first choice. Whilst he should have held the meeting in his office, he found it more appropriate to give it here. As he entered the building, he saw several people sitting on chairs around a large round table, next to a small tank made up to look like a coral reef. Leon and Adrian, he recognised, but the majority of people surrounding the table were new faces. He never ceased being surprised as to how large Novum actually was; pretty much everybody sitting was transferred from some part of the company. As Drew went to his chair, he mentally took notes of everyone.

Sitting next to Leon and Adrian were the other two Deputy Keepers, a man and a woman about the same age as them; Jack and Alice Denham. Jack was a little taller than Leon with black hair, hazel eyes and a slightly stocky build. He wore a pair of glasses, a black t-shirt, scuffed trousers and a goofy smile. Alice, sitting next to him, was quite tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and an average, slightly athletic build. There was a similarity in facial features that betrayed their familial relation. Whilst not night and day, Jack and Alice were definitely dawn and dusk to each other; she seemed more collected and serious than her excitable brother. Whilst he had only been briefly introduced to them, he knew they were both skilled and competent; both had been animal handlers on Novum projects before the opportunity for PE came up; tempted by the prospect of "new frontiers" (as well as the considerable paycheck), they'd taken the job.

The heads of staff were also there. Drew mentally listed them off.

Linda Eberhart, a tall, fair skinned blonde woman in her mid thirties. She had been a zoo vet, working at many accredited institutions around the world (including San Diego Zoo, ZSL London Zoo and the San Diego Safari Park), before joining Novum as a vet on their various projects. Given this, it was unsurprising that Theodore had offered her the position of chief veterinarian at PE. Sitting next to her was her assistant, Yolanda Hall. They looked startlingly alike; it was hard to believe that they weren't related.

Sitting adjacent to her was Kyle Taymor, a well-built African-British man in his early forties. He had also come from a zoo background; he had been working in many accredited institutions around the world (including the ZSL London Zoo, Bronx Zoo and Chester Zoo), before he had joined Novum as an animal handler on their many projects. Theodore had offered him the position of head keeper. He, tempted by the new frontiers the job would offer, had jumped at the call.

Sitting next to Kyle was Nikolai Koshkin, a tall, well built, dark-haired Russian man in his early fifties (although he looked a few years younger). He was an ex-Spetsnaz sniper, who had joined Novum shortly after leaving. He had several scars from that era; the most notable being on his forehead and his arm. Drew knew better than to ask where they had came from; he was always evasive about his past and with good reason. Theodore had offered him the position of head of security on Prehistoric Earth. Interested by what the offer entailed, he had taken the position.

Sitting in the next seat but one was Collete Dubois, his "number two", a woman about the same age as Drew with platinum blonde hair, pale skin and icy blue eyes. She gave the room an icy stare, as if contemplating the number of ways she could escape the room and overpower everyone using only her little finger.

Sitting next to Collete, with his head buried in a book was Khatin von Schorzberg, the head of the park's research division. It wasn't a surprise he was busy reading the book instead of focusing on Drew or talking to the others in the room; he wasn't keen on socialisation, instead choosing to focus on his research.

They made for a bizarre collection. However, they all shared one common goal; they were ready for the most dangerous creatures that prehistory could throw at them. They were ready for the worst. They were ready... for thumb sized fish.

"Seriously? We're preparing for that?!"

(Intro Theme)

Everyone on the round table was looking at a representation of what was to be the first planned animal. On the table was a large picture of a small fish only a few inches long. While most of the group looked confused at the choice, Kyle was pretty furious, "I spent hours preparing for some giant killer dinosaurs and now you're telling me that we're starting with something that can't even hurt a nerve!"

Drew facepalmed, shook his head, and sighed, "I know it's small but it played a huge role in shaping the world as it is today. It was the first vertebrate; the ancestor to all backboned animals." Khatin, along with several of the others, nodded in understanding; they all knew how special this was. Kyle was, however, still angry. He turned to Nikolai who was sitting in the corner, not speaking a word and stated "Koli, could you please back me up here?"

Nikolai, barely looking up, raised two fingers, and coolly said "One, don't call me Koli. Two, I feel starting with a small animal species at the beginning is both practical from a security perspective and would help us learn how to care for extinct animals." Kyle threw his arms in the air and left the building, muttering things to himself. Drew sighed and went back to what he was explaining.

 _ **In order to save this fish they'll have to go back to China, about 530 million years ago; the Cambrian period. During this period the Earth was mostly covered in water, no life lived on the land, the world was colder and the air had thirty-seven percent less oxygen. This hellish world was the unlikely birthplace of the first vertebrates.**_

It was decided that Leon, Adrian, Jack and Alice would be accompanying Drew on this first trip into the past. Together they plan on capturing some of life's first creatures.

The five were standing in front of the time portal, each wearing a custom Novum diving suit specially designed to handle the Cambrian seas; durable drysuits with silicone sealing systems which kept both the water and the cold out (mostly), life-support systems which resisted the cold, and heated undergarments. Instead of a normal mask and breathing apparatus they had an all-in-one version developed by Novum, with a built in communicator. They didn't have any air mixtures yet so they had to stay in the sea; this mission had to be a quick one. Drew stepped first towards the glowing vortex and was soon jumping in, his four teammates following behind him.

 **Trivia or Everything You Didn't Realise you Needed to Know about Prehistoric Earth:**

 **1\. Prehistoric Earth came about as discussions on reviews of** _ **Dawn of the Indominus.**_ **Around about December 2015, Drew commented he'd had an idea about a Prehistoric Park with the creatures from Walking with Dinosaurs; the project gained a lot of support from users and it began in earnest. The project languished for a while until about April, in which new characters, plot ideas and scenarios were suggested.**

 **2\. Jack Denham's name is a composite of the names of Jack Driscoll and Carl Denham from King Kong.**

 **3\. A proposed title for this mission was** _ **Novum Initium**_ **(Latin for new beginning).**

 **4\. The total number of PE staff at this point is about 150 people; of course, we won't see all of them. By series' end, we'll probably have seen about 30, including the 11-strong core cast; some will be semi-recurring, others will probably be just characters who appear every now and again (there will be no real one-timers). Some we've already thought of (remember Kaisumi?), others you're free to suggest OCs for.**

 **5\. Personally, about the intro (which I posted in the reviews, because the story was simply too cluttered with it), I just hear generic jaunty action music. The music is** _ **really**_ **up to you; some people will hear the theme from the original PP, others will hear the Jurassic Park theme. I showed this chapter to someone and he heard the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean… for some reason.**

 **6\. This is the only time that all four of the mission team members (Leon, Adrian, Jack and Alice) will go on a mission.  
**


	4. New Beginnings Part 2

The first thing Drew felt when he arrived was the sensation of his body being surrounded by cold water. He landed with a loud splash, scaring some small animals on the ocean floor, his teammates soon followed creating equally large splashes. Eventually their bodies got accustomed to the frigid water and that, on top of the insulation, kept them slightly warm.

"Ok, let's test the communicators in the suits. Can you all hear me?" Drew asked to his team. After getting OK signals from his team, he began to explain his plan, "Right, guys, we only have a few hours' worth of air, so this mission will have to be done quick. I already saw some small creatures on the sea floor, so I say we look for those first."

"Why are we looking for those small creatures exactly?" Jack asked.

Drew looked at him before responding, "Because they're extinct species and it's our duty to save them. Before I set off, I gave myself a motto; "no species left behind". Even if they aren't endangered at the time doesn't give us any reason to leave them behind." The team nodded in understanding, before he continued, "Good. Thankfully the creatures here aren't too big, so we won't have to worry about Nikolai killing us for any unexpected dangers. But in the future, Novum are planning on getting us communicators so we can warn the park about animals that aren't planned."

The team then began to swim down to the sea floor in search for the mysterious creatures of the Cambrian. It didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for. The first thing they noted as they headed to the sea floor was that it was carpeted with large creatures that looked like a cross between a horseshoe crab and a woodlouse; there must have been thousands.

"Our first prehistoric animals! And it's none other than the famous trilobites!", Drew exclaimed with happiness. Grabbing a sonar device, Drew pressed a button which sent a wave that began to herd the trilobites nearest to them into a single area. He then grabbed the remote and opened the portal. He pressed the sonar one more time and ushered the animals through the portal and into the park.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?" Jack asked. Further up ahead a very strange looking creature was swimming low over the reef. It looked like an enormous shrimp, but without any legs. It was covered in grey armour (like a crab), with white stripes surrounded by pale overlapping lobes, a pair of compound eyes on stalks, a fan-shaped tail made of the same lobes, what seemed to be lamella on the top of each lobe, and a pair of curved appendages resembling pineapple rings with barbs sticking out of them. The creature swam much like a cuttlefish with the lobes moving in a Mexican wave.

"That is Anomalocaris. The world's first apex predator" Leon replied.

The Anomalocaris sailed through the reef, casting a look of calculated indifference upon the humans swimming around it. Suddenly, with the speed of a striking cobra, it swooped in near to Alice and grabbed a trilobite scuttling on the sandy floor, hooking its barbs into its exoskeleton. However, instead of tearing into it with the mouth, it instead started flexing the trilobite with its appendages. After a time of this, the trilobite snapped in half and the Anomalocaris began to feast on the trilobite's innards.

Jack swam over to check on his sister, who was startled after the speed of the attack. "You OK, sis?". Alice smiled at him and said, "Yeah I'm fine, just startled. I wasn't expecting it to attack that fast. It was like a shark attack." Leon snorted and said, "Anomalocaris isn't the world's first super predator for nothing. Its eyes gave it an advantage; it could see prey from an incredible distance".

The Anomalocaris continued to feast on its catch when something seemed to gain its attention. The team turned and saw another Anomalocaris approaching. The incumbent Anomalocaris dropped its meal and began to advance towards the intruder. Everyone swam back from the two monsters, who were now circling each other territorially. This stand-off continued for a minute or so, before one charged towards the other; a full-on fight had begun. The first Anomalocaris dodged its charging attacker and tried to grab it, before it was shaken off by its rival. Suddenly, a third Anomalocaris joined the fray and head butted one of the others. The three battlers circled each other menacingly, before charging at each other. It was more like a dogfight than a brawl, as the three creatures clashed against each other. The team watched the battle in confusion.

"Why are they fighting? It's not over the trilobite; they've ignored it this whole time", Alice said, perplexed. Jack turned to his sister and said, "Yeah, you're right, I don't think the trilobite has anything to do with it. Perhaps the resident animal expert could explain?" Leon stated, his tone increasingly shocked, "Jack's right; this is a territorial battle. And it's not going to go well; apex predators can inflict serious injury on each other". Adrian said, in a worried tone, "These creatures may be tough, but rigid armour can split if it's bent too far. That's what they're trying to do, that's why they're trying to grab each other". Drew finished his sentence for him "And if we don't stop the fight, who knows what they're going to do to each other ?!"

Thinking quickly, Drew grabbed the remote and pressed the button. As the portal whirred open, it managed to gain one of the Anomalocaris' attention, allowing one to get the drop on its rival. Hooking into it with its barbs, the attacker flexed its rival's exoskeleton, until a sickening crack emanated from its victim and a stream of black fluid spilled out of its body.

"Leon, try and attract it," Drew said. "It's injured so it won't be able to compete properly."

"I'll try!" The injured Anomalocaris had suddenly turned one hundred and eighty degrees to face Leon. As it come closer and closer, lobes dancing elegantly in the water, Leon started to back through to the open portal. Just as the Anomalocaris was on him, the portal whirled open sending it through. The other two, noticing the disappearance of their rival, pursued it through the portal, into the present.

At the park, Kyle and Nikolai had finished herding the last of the arthropods into the holding tank, until their tank in the aquarium could be finished. Suddenly, the portal flared to life and Leon swam out. They walked up to him Suddenly, a bleeding Anomalocaris careened through the holding tank, like an eighteen-wheeler in a skid. Pursuing it were two others. As Leon hauled himself out of the water, the bleeding Anomalocaris hooked its barbs into his leg and tried to pull him into the water. However, Leon managed to fight it off. Nikolai just shook his head and began barking orders.

Back in the Cambrian the remaining crew looked at Drew in confusion. Drew smiled sheepishly through his mask, "Well, it was a plan, wasn't it?" Their attention suddenly turned to the trilobite the Anomolocaris had dropped, which had fallen down to Drew's level. Suddenly, a swarm of small fish, numbering over a hundred, appeared from behind a rock and surrounded the trilobite remains around Drew. Whilst they were very small to see and were moving very close together, the team were able to notice that they were brownish in colour with skin that was partially translucent and covered in a layer of slime. Adrian, Jack and Alice appeared to be almost euphoric as they watched the fish shoal around them. Drew turned his head around the swarm circling him for the meat and smiled, "Here they are. Haikouichthys, the first vertebrate; our earliest known ancestor." Adrian looked at Drew, perplexed and said, "How are we going to bring them back? It'll be impossible to grab them and I doubt herding them will be possible". Drew gave his team a wry smile, and said "So we'll have to come up with a different plan, then. They were attracted by the trilobite; try moving it near the portal." He pressed the remote, opened the portal and grabbed the first half of the dead trilobite, with his teammates grabbing the other. The Haikouichthys swam through the portal after the trilobite, following the trail like a bloodhound on a trail.

Once on the other side, Drew swam into a holding tank with his team. Once they all were in the gate to the tank closed and they climbed out of the tank to the bridge on top, where Leon, Nikolai and Kyle were waiting for them. They were all soaked through.

"I've got to say Drew, those things are smaller than I was expecting.", Kyle said with a smile on his face. "But I do hope you can explain the giant shrimp that tried to eat Leon. We got drenched trying to move them." Nikolai muttered sardonically, "Before you left, you said they weren't dangerous. Maybe you would have changed your mind after an hour spent moving one of the damn things." Drew responded with scratching the back of his head, "Oh, you know about that…"

After a few hours, the new arrivals were all settled in their new homes. The trilobites had a tank that wasn't very tall but made up for it with length. The tank was made with a glass top so guests could walk on top of it and see the trilobites. Linda and Yolanda had treated the injured Anomalocaris, and the three creatures had a larger tank that was covered with rocks and coral. Unlike in their old homes, each Anomalocaris had their own portion of the tank to ferociously guard to ensure there were fewer clashes over territory. The school of Haikouichthys were currently being fed, on assorted fish guts thrown in their tank.

"Well, I can see you've started well." a voice asked him. He turned round to see Theodore standing behind him. was busy rubbing his arms clearly not expecting the cold of the exhibit. He looked intently at an Anomalocaris swim through the water picking up assorted fish guts with its barbs, "I have to say, you really have proven yourself today; you've succeeded beyond my wildest dreams". Drew's eyes widened, "You didn't tell me you were visiting."

He gave a mischievous grin in reply, "I wanted to keep it a surprise; I like to keep everyone on their toes." He sat down on the bench next to him, "So, how was it?" Drew smiled and said "Epic; you should have seen it, everything was so unique! We're all just looking forward to the next mission."

"That's the spirit.", Theodore grinned, "and, don't you worry, it'll come sooner rather than later. Maybe you should be prepared for something a bit bigger."

 **Next time Drew and his team are after Earth's first giant**

 **(A squid like creature rises from the abyss)**

 **And get their hands full with scavengers**

 **(Scorpions begin to swarm around Leon)**

 **And, back at the park, everyone learns the hard way that old habits die hard**

 **(Two of the Anomalocaris charge towards each other)**

 **All next time of Prehistoric Earth: Devils of the Deep!**

Animals rescued:

Redlichia chinensis: 26 (13 males, 13 females)

Anomalocaris saron: 3 (2 males, 1 female)

Haikouichthys ercaicunensis: 115 (78 males, 37 females)


	5. Devils of The Deep Part 1

Chapter 2: Devils of the Deep.

Khatin von Schorzberg looked at the Anomalocaris tank, watching the giant arthropods swim gracefully through the water. He began to think; the creatures looked bizarre by human standards, but were perfectly adapted for the roles of apex predators in the Cambrian seas. However, life at the top isn't as great as it sounds; besides the fact that prey almost never cooperates, rivals for the position were a frequent problem.

He noticed that one of the Anomalocaris swam slower than the others and had massive scars on its exoskeleton. He hadn't been on the mission, but he'd read the report; this was the Anomalocaris that had been injured in a three-way territorial brawl. Yolanda had given the injured arthropod the affectionate nickname of Squishy. Attempting to divide the tank into three sections for each individual was designed to prevent any further territorial battles from occurring. However, as the unfortunate Squishy had found out, old habits die hard.

Khatin walked over to the top of the Anomalocaris tank and dropped a net full of assorted fish guts into the tank. Squishy turned to see the food land in the water and began to move for it, like a dog after a tennis ball and began to feed like he hadn't eaten in days. However, he didn't have time to enjoy his meal for long. Another Anomalocaris, with the speed of a battering ram, smashed into Squishy's torso and knocked him off balance. Whilst Squishy was disoriented, the Anomalocaris eagerly grabbed the meat and swam off. Squishy regained his balance just in time to see the plunderer escape. His only reaction was to pathetically flail his appendages at his retreating rival. At full strength, Squishy might have taken him on, but, over the past week, he'd learnt his place on the pecking order the hard way; he'd become the tank's resident whipping boy.

(Intro theme)

Khatin watched the event happen and sighed; this had been going on for the past week, ever since Squishy had been introduced into the tank. He heard some footsteps and turned round to see Linda walking towards him with a clipboard. This problem had been reported by one of Khatin's assistants, who had been researching the Anomalocaris and seen this happen. Khatin had contacted Linda for help; she'd been shown CCTV footage of one of the events and had observed and made notes about Squishy's condition. He gave her a concerned look and asked, "How's he looking?", while she got out the notes she'd made.

Linda exhaled and looked at Khatin, "For the most part, the same as he was yesterday. His condition's improved slightly from when he was brought back, but unless the other two leave him alone, he won't be able to eat and regain his full strength; if he doesn't, his wounds might get the better of him. From what I've seen, he wants to fight back but can't; he's weakened and the other two are taking advantage of it."

As Linda said this, both Khatin and Linda turned to look at the unfortunate Squishy, who was now weakly swimming away, limping off to some secluded place to heal his wounds. They both gave a look of pained sympathy, which ended when Khatin said, "Poor guy. Should we talk to Kyle about separating the tanks?" Linda shook her head, "No, nothing too big has happened yet. I say we wait; right now, there's not much we _can_ do. However, I'll inform Drew of the situation; maybe he'll have some ideas", she paused to take some notes before looking up again. "Speaking of which, do you know where Drew and Leon are? I haven't seen them since yesterday."

Khatin shook his head, "Last I saw, they were talking to Kyle and some staff members about something. I think they're in the southern part of the aquarium." Linda nodded to him and walked off. Sighing, Khatin turned back to the tank and grabbed another piece of meat for the net. Maybe it'd work this time; maybe, whilst the others were busy, Squishy might be able to get something to eat.

Linda walked through the aquarium, passing the trilobite and Haikouichthys tanks as she did so, until she found the southern end of the aquarium. What she saw amazed her; workmen were constructing a gigantic tank. The tank was much bigger than anything in the park so far; it could have contained an entire school of great whites. She looked to the left and saw Drew and Leon conversing about something between themselves.

She calmly walked up to them and asked, "Excuse me, but what's all the construction about?" Leon turned to her and answered with, "It's for the new arrivals." Linda gave them both a confused look, "I thought all the animals from the mission had exhibits already?"

"We're talking about our next batch of animals." Drew answered. "Today, me and Leon are going to 450 million years ago, to where New York is today, to rescue Earth's first truly giant creature; the orthocone Cameroceras." Linda looked between them with a barely concealed look of surprise, "You're going on another mission already? It's barely been a week since the last one."

Drew gave a lopsided, knowing smirk and said, "Exactly. Theodore says that we can start the next mission as soon as we can." Leon gave a smile in response and said, "And all the new equipment, like the air mixes and the communicators, came in at the docks last night, so we're prepared. Might as well test it all out".

Linda nodded at all this information, before raising her finger, "One question. Why aren't the others coming?" Drew smiled at her and answered with, "This mission won't need too many people; I'm only bringing Leon, since I kind of owe it to him after what happened with him and Squishy. And we're better equipped now; if we need backup, we can simply open the portal, use the communicator and drop a message saying we need help."

Linda breathed out, "That's good enough for me. Actually, I wanted to speak to you about something... Khatin informed me that it seems that Squishy is already dealing with competition from his tankmates; they're stealing his food and he's barely eaten in a week. Any suggestions on what I should tell Kyle?" At hearing this, Drew put his hand on his chin and looked thoughtfully at her, "Personally, I'd advise Kyle to separate Squishy from the others when they're being fed; that way he won't have to worry about the others stealing his food and he can eat in peace." Linda nodded in response to this and began to walk off. After she left, Drew turned to Leon and said. "You ready for this?" Leon nodded in response, "Always. Goes with the territory."

The two left the aquarium and headed to where the portal was. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal flared to life at the push of a button. Drew put the portal remote in his pocket and, after making sure the remote was secured , he and Leon headed through the portal.

After the blinding light from the portal dimmed down, the first thing that hit them was a sudden feeling of light-headedness and a sudden, skull-splitting headache. Drew and Leon quickly reached for their air mixtures and took a breath. After a short period, the light-headedness began to subside and the headaches gradually ebbed away. After that brief frantic period, they looked up at the Ordovician world. And what a world it was.

In the Cambrian, they hadn't had time to look at the land; due to the fact that Novum were still working on the air mixtures, they couldn't have surfaced. So seeing the Ordovician Earth was still a massive shock. The land looked more like a picture taken from Mars than anything on Earth. The land was featureless; it was a barren wasteland of roasting rock, with no signs of life. It was uncannily quiet; as if a nuclear bomb had gone off and wiped out all life on Earth.

After looking around this desolate world, Leon turned to Drew and said "OK, so where should we head first?" Drew, still a little woozy, said "I say we head for the shallow waters first. There might be some animals there we could bring back and we could use whatever carcasses we find there as bait."

Soon the two adventurers were ankle-deep in the shallow waters of the ocean. That at least was the same 450 million years on; the shallows were sandy and murky, the perfect place for animals to hide. After a little bit of walking, Leon felt something swim against his foot. Sticking his hand in the water, he searched blindly for a few seconds before grabbing a small, squirming creature. He quickly lifted it out of the water to take a better look. The creature was a fish that was only about 7 inches in length. There was a vague similarity in appearance between it and the Haikouichthys back at the park; like the Haikouichthys, it was jawless and finless, but there the similarities ended. The most notable difference was in its front end, which was disproportionately large in comparison to the rest of its body, giving the animal a top-heavy appearance. The fish's entire body was covered in small bony plates, lacking the Haikouichthys' slime capsule. It was coloured a mottled green and sandy brown, making it perfectly camouflaged with its environment.

Drew walked over and identified the creature, "Astraspis, a bottom-feeding jawless fish. I don't know about you, but I'd love to have a few of these at the park." After sending a message to the park to prepare for small fish on the communicator, Drew and Leon walked around for a bit, grabbing any Astraspis they could find; a task that proved easier said than done. Soon after collecting a few more they turned on the portal and placed the fish they had caught near it. The sudden presence of the bright light attracted more Astraspis, and the shoal began funnelling through the portal. After a reasonable amount had swum through, Drew and Leon turned the portal off and began looking for bait for the orthocone.

However, small fish weren't the only ones lurking in the shallows. As Drew and Leon watched the fish swim into the portal, something larger began to creep up the sand, till it reached the area where the aggregation had been. If it had been capable of human emotion, it would have felt something similar to dismay; what a disappointment it was to find no prey here. It had never seen this large creature before. But it was hungry and, with most of the fish gone, what was in front of it would have to do. With the speed of a stinging scorpion, the predator struck.


	6. Devils of The Deep Part 2

Part 2:

Drew gave out a yell of pain as he felt his leg get stabbed by something sharp. Leon acted quickly in response to this, running to get the first aid equipment at their camp. Drew reached underwater and grabbed the attacker and held it up in the air. It was a bizarre looking creature. The best way to describe it was a cross between a scorpion and a lobster, with the colouration of a horseshoe crab. However it was much larger, approximately four feet long, and unlike either of those two animals, it had no pincers; instead its front "arms" were long and thin, covered with spiky barbs of varying size..

Leon returned to tend to the wound while Drew inspected his attacker, which was now safely interred in a specimen tank. Leon regarded the squirming creature, whilst tending Drew's wound, "If my memory serves correctly, this is Megalograptus, a type of sea scorpion. And they were the first animals to come onto land."

Drew breathed in his air mixture and looked around; it was hard to imagine anything being able to survive in this desolate world, "How can they survive when there's little to no oxygen?"

Leon finished treating Drew's wound, as he breathed into the air mixture, "Oh, they may be able to walk, but they'd rarely leave the sea anyway; only when mating season arrives. Since there's no life on land, it's safer for them to lay their eggs there."

With the Megalograptus safely interred, Drew and Leon continued their hunt for bait, which proved to be more successful than they had hoped; the shallows were littered with corpses. On the table they had a bin full of dead Astraspis. However, most prominent was the corpse of a large grey trilobite. More of those were in a small tank, in which they had pilled up on each other. Leon had identified them as Isotelus, the largest of the trilobites. There was a vague similarity in appearance between them and the Cambrian trilobites back at the park, but its body was more rounded, without any of; it looked more like an enormous woodlouse than a horseshoe crab. They were found a bit further from the shoreline, rooting through the shallows for detritus.

As they prepared the bait, the Megalograptus in the specimen tank was watching them intently as they prepared their bait; due to its general demeanour, they had given it the nickname of Grumpy. Drew took a breath of air and began to speak, "Well, it took some time, but we managed to get the bait we need for our sea monster." Leon smiled, turned his eyes to the specimen tank and chuckled, "Hopefully, Grumpy won't take it."

Drew chuckled in response, "Don't worry, I don't think sea scorpions can climb. Anyway help me move these tanks through the portal. I don't think they like being cramped on top of each other like that."

After activating the portal and sending Grumpy and the trilobites through, Leon turned to Drew and asked, "So what's the need for the air you brought? That type looks like it could be used to dive into an abyss."

Drew gave him a knowing smile, "That's the point. Cameroceras was thought to live rather like a sperm whale; diving into the abyss to hunt prey. We might have to go into deeper waters to find one. However if my theory is correct, then we should be good." Leon looked at him, confused, "So, what's the plan?" Drew smiled in response, "The plan is to get your gear ready. 'Cause we are going on a night dive."

Back at the park, Khatin had come up with a plan to ensure that Squishy's days of being the tank's punching bag would end. He and Linda stood over a holding tank containing two Anomalocaris. The scars on the left individual's exoskeleton marked him as Squishy. His condition had drastically improved from being fed separately from the others; Drew had had the right idea. The Anomalocaris on the other side was the female who had been rescued.

Khatin's plan had been very simple; to introduce Squishy to the female, in hope that they would be better accustomed to each other. If the plan worked, she could be able to protect him from the other one. Khatin gave the signal and the gate dividing the two holding tanks was opened. Almost immediately, the female charged at Squishy. However, unlike before, in which Squishy had passively submitted to being beaten up, he quickly swam away. This went on for several minutes; every time the female charged at Squishy, he would simply move out of the way. Linda began to panic and was about to separate them when Khatin stopped her.

She gave him a look as if he'd gone mad, "Khatin, are you insane?! She'll kill him." Khatin shook his head and said, "No, this is necessary. She needs to know that Squishy isn't going to fight back so all he needs to do is let her win and she'll leave him alone."

After a few minutes the female began to tire out; it seemed she had got the message that Squishy wasn't in the mood for a fight. As she began to slow down, Squishy began to calm down, and both individuals became more relaxed. A keeper watching from above threw some fish guts into the tank, to see how they would react. The female went for the food first, like a dog after a tennis ball, and began to eat. Squishy tentatively moved to feed on the other half; arthropod brains were not what vertebrates' were, but the memories of being attacked were still fresh in his mind. Ultimately his hunger won out; he advanced towards the food and began to ravenously feed, like a starving dog. The female turned to look at him; everyone waited with bated breath, would Khatin's plan work? Time seemed to stop for the crew as they waited as to how she would respond; would she attack him? The female looked at Squishy for a bit, before turning the other way and swimming to the other side of the tank. After Squishy had finished eating, he quickly followed. Everyone breathed out in relief; the plan had been a success.


	7. Devils of the Deep Part 3

In the Ordovician, Drew and Leon were on a raft heading for deeper waters. It was almost pitch black outside, with only the lights on their diving suits countering the darkness. As day had turned into night, the eerie atmosphere had only been increased; the silence had now become almost oppressive. After a while of rafting, they stopped in the middle of the bay. Drew and Leon looked at each other and their surroundings for several minutes before diving in. The seas of the Ordovician were very similar to the ones of the Cambrian, except much quieter; the open ocean was just as silent as the land. Leon looked around, confused and contacted Drew over the communicator in the suit, "I don't see any sign of an orthocone. I say we head down deeper, maybe we'll find them there."

Drew smiled at him, "That sounds like a plan. But we need to be careful. Just because we have special air tanks doesn't mean our bodies can handle the abyss." They dived deeper and deeper, growing more and more nervous as they went; what would happen if the air ran out before they'd found what they were looking for? After about half an hour of diving, they managed to spot a chasm on the ocean floor. They couldn't go any further (not without running out of air), so instead of pursuing their targets, they planned to lure them out.

However, their targets had other ideas. As they swam closer to the chasm, dangling the trilobite, an enormous tentacle, longer than they were tall, emerged from the gloom and grabbed it, before withdrawing into the inky abyss from whence it came. It was a few minutes until the creature fully emerged. It was large, about as long as a truck, with gigantic tentacles. It was vaguely reminiscent of a giant squid, but there was one core difference; the creature had an enormous cone-shaped shell, which stretched to about thirty feet behind it. The creature sailed past them, taking little to no notice of the tiny specks watching it. Shortly after it, several others emerged from the abyssal gloom. Drew was so shocked by what he was witnessing, that he'd forgotten how close he had become to one. Drew's eyes widened as an enormous tentacle flew through the air with deceptive speed. He managed to dodge it and the tentacle slashed aimlessly through the water. Witnessing his companion's embarrassing moment, Leon chuckled a bit, before having to narrowly dodge a second large tentacle as it whipped through the water, missing him by inches and sending him spinning.

The dazed Leon complained, "Now I know how clothes in a washing machine feel!". Just as he regained stability, he suddenly noticed something; Drew had vanished. After looking around for several minutes, Leon spotted him swimming after the orthocones. Before he could ask Drew what he was doing, he saw something unbelievable; Drew grabbed onto the end of the nearest orthocone's cone and began to ride it as it swam along, unaware of its small passenger. Leon stood, staring at him in blank surprise, before Drew called out to him, "How else are we going to find out where they're going?" Leon quickly snapped out of his disbelief, before following Drew and the giants, keeping a safe distance.

Soon the enormous creatures, like an oil tanker changing direction, began to go downwards. Drew hopped off the end of the cone, in case they were heading back into the abyss from whence they had came. Instead, they headed only a few metres, down to the seabed. Much to Drew's surprise, the sea floor was carpeted with Megalograptus, moving almost in line. One of the orthocones swam down at the moving eurypterids and, with a speed that belied its massive size, grabbed the scorpion nearest to it with its tentacles. As the scorpion disappeared into the orthocone's maw, the others joined in, grabbing more scorpions with their tentacles. The other Megalograptus, indifferent to the loss of their comrades, continued on their pilgrimage.

Whilst they were occupied with their meal, Drew grabbed the remote and turned on the portal. The orthocones turned to regard the gleaming orb, like insects to a bright light and slowly began to swim towards the portal. The first one went through slowly, segment by segment, with the others following it. The spectacle was amazing to watch; it was as if everything else, even time itself, had stopped in order to celebrate this grand moment. After the last one went in, the portal was shut off. Drew smiled at Leon, "I think we can call this mission over. Let's get back to camp."

However, they were about to have a big surprise. Leon turned to Drew, looking upon the chaos in front of them, and said "It's 'unlikely sea scorpions can climb'. Weren't those your exact words?!"

Drew didn't bother responding as he looked at the camp dumbstruck. There were Megalograptus everywhere; the camp was almost carpeted with them. As they stood in shock, the nearest scorpion turned to the interlopers and hissed at them. Drew shook his head and snapped out of the initial shock and ran towards the table, "Leon, I'll take care of the ones on the table, you gather up the rest." Leon turned to the scorpions now surrounding him, attracted by the fish carcasses in the barrel directly behind him. The scent of food caused the scorpions to advance menacingly towards him, almost moving as a unified entity. Once he reached the table, Drew grabbed the nearest scorpion and turned on the portal, Drew tried to send a message to prepare for scorpions, but soon realised the difficulties of holding a squirming ocean predator in one hand whilst texting in the other.

At the park, Kyle looked over the new species rescued; whilst the fish, orthocones and trilobites had been easily transported, it had taken twenty minutes to get the scorpion into a holding tank; half the transport team had been drenched trying to move the aggressive little creature. Hopefully, Drew wouldn't bring anything else that temperamental back… Suddenly the communicator rang; a message from Drew. It read "prepare for scprions"; Kyle, confused, stared at the three-word message and exclaimed irritably, "What the hell is he trying to say"?" The portal suddenly flared to life and a scorpion, like the one in the holding tank, swam through. Kyle sighed, "Oh, he meant more scorpions, because of course he did. It would have been nice to know that when they first came through!" He took a deep breath and prepared to be soaked once more.

In the Ordovician, Drew had just taken care of the scorpion nearest to him and began to move to the next one, whilst Leon was currently trying to get the swarm to stop crawling on him, saying "Get off me! Go and eat someone your own size!" He shook his leg, managing to dislodge one, however several more took its place, using him as a ladder in order to get at the bait barrel.

Over a period of twenty minutes, Drew was able to get all the scorpions on and near the table into the portal. Leon, however, was currently a Megalograptus ladder, as several swarmed over him to get at the fish carcasses. He yelled, "Drew! What the hell are you doing?! I need some help!"

In response, Drew rolled his eyes and moved towards Leon, managing to move some scorpions out of the way before grabbing the very item the Megalograptus had congregated to get; the Astraspis carcasses in the bait barrel. He grabbed the barrel and lifted it up above the scorpions. In response, they all began to follow him, almost moving as a single entity to get at the carcasses inside. After fighting several off, he emptied the barrel, sending the contents through the portal with the Megalograptus in hot pursuit, like seagulls after a French fry. Drew turned around and looked at Leon, who was currently dusting himself off from the sea scorpions which had clambered on him. He gave Drew a glare, "Do NOT tell Yolanda about this, understand?" Drew responded with a sigh and another eye roll.

Once the two returned through the portal, they were able to help Kyle and the others move the new arrivals to their new homes. It was decided, to save on space, that the Isotelus and the Astraspis could share a tank; they were both detritivores and did not pose any danger to each other. They were kept in a large tank which was made up to stimulate an Ordovician seabed; it was very sandy, and had lots of algae growing in it.

The Megalograptus had a significantly larger tank, full of rocks and coral. In order for them to mate and lay their eggs when they bred, there was a land area, sealed off with airtight doors and air similar to an Ordovician atmosphere. Grumpy was easy to recognize and was holed up in a small cave with a rock in the middle that had a small window in it, currently occupied hissing at everyone who was walking by.

The largest tank was home to the Cameroceras school. It was the largest thing that they'd ever built; the tank was so deep that the viewing windows were on two floors instead of a single floor. The tank was mainly empty except for a few rocks in order to stimulate an open ocean. The school had silently disappeared into the gloomy abyss as soon as they had been released, only emerging to eat some chum.

Meanwhile, at the Anomalocaris tank, it was feeding time once again. Uncharacteristically, Squishy was first; as soon as he saw the food being dropped, he swam hotly toward it, his swimming speed increased due to his improved condition and began to eat ravenously. However , it caught the attention of the other male Anomalocaris, who began to swim towards Squishy to take his food. Squishy ignored his advancing rival, until they were within feet of each other. The other male raised his appendages and swished his lobes in a threatening gesture. Suddenly, Squishy whipped around and, with deceptive speed, knocked the male in the chest, sending him spinning. Whilst he was distracted, Squishy swam round on his rival and, using his barbs, hooked into his head. Squishy began to pull on his rival's head, but he broke free and whipped around to face Squishy. However instead of fighting, he turned tail and backed off to a corner of the feeding area. Squishy cast an almost triumphant look at his retreating rival and began to feed. As he continued to feed, he suddenly saw the female Anomalocaris swim towards him. A keeper, watching the spectacle from above, threw some more fish guts into the tank. She gladly accepted the food and began to eat a short distance away from Squishy. The defeated second male, still keeping a safe distance, began to feed when his portion was thrown down by the keeper. Squishy cast an almost triumphant look; it had become abundantly clear that his days at bottom of the pecking order were over.

At his office Drew was looking at some papers Theodore had sent him, when he heard a knock. Not even looking up, he said, "Come in." He looked up as the door opened and Leon walked in. Leon, smiling at him, said "Hey, I was just wondering what the next animal we're saving is going to be. I just hope it's not going to be anything like those scorpions; I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime."

Drew smiled mischievously and lifted two papers, passing them to Leon. Leon looked at the most prominent of them and frowned. He looked back at Drew, who nodded, as if in confirmation. Leon, suddenly wearing an expression of shock , screamed at the top of his voice, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

 **Next time Drew and co try and rescue the first creatures to move on land.**

 **(Some fish haul themselves out of the water onto a stretch of land)**

 **But they'll have to be ready for a new generation of armoured arthropods**

 **(Five giant scorpions advance towards Jack)**

 **Including some of the largest of all time**

 **(A scorpion grabs a smaller scorpion in its claws)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: The First Steps**

Animals rescued

Astraspis desiderata: 11 (6 males, 5 females)

Isotelus rex: 8 (4 males, 4 females)

Megalograptus alveolatus: 45 (15 males, 30 females)

Cameroceras trentonense: 5 (3 males, 2 females)


	8. The First Steps Part 1

Chapter 3: The First Steps

It was a normal day at Prehistoric Earth. The Anomalocaris, including the fully healed Squishy, were swimming through the reefs and the Cameroceras were hiding in the dark gloom of their abyss, waiting for their food to arrive. However, Leon did not have time to think about this. Instead, Leon's life was flashing before his eyes.

"This is it", he thought to himself, "This is the end. Well, I'm actually surprised that my only regret is that I didn't get to stay long enough to rescue extinct cats." He breathed out, grabbed a bucket in his hand and ran into the door; better to get this over with quickly than drag it out. As he opened the door, he became very light headed and every instinct in his body was telling him to leave. However, he, against every single one of his impulses, opened the door. With lightning speed, he dumped the bucket of fish guts into the water's edge and, just as quickly, ran back slamming the door behind him. He panted and wheezed for a few minutes, as he got his breath back; hopefully he wouldn't have to go in there for a while. His thoughts were interrupted by a slow clapping. He turned to see Collete Dubois standing, perfectly relaxed, against one of the aquarium walls with a smirk on her face. She gave him a look as if he was from Mars, before sarcastically saying, "Well, that was impressive. We have 45 Megalograptus and you've probably just fed about only a couple of them at maximum." Leon stared at her for several minutes, completely flabbergasted, before bursting suddenly into laughter and fainting.

(Intro theme)

Drew and Nikolai were currently looking over the Cameroceras tank, watching Jack Denham stand on the feeding platform. He was pulling a rope that held a box containing a large amount of chum up and down, so that the tank's inhabitants could grab it. Nikolai turned to Drew, "Komandir, could you please remind me again why Leon was given scorpion feeding duty?"

Drew gave an awkward grimace, "He was the only one available at the moment. Alice is busy with the Anomalocaris, whilst Adrian's with the research division; they're studying the trilobites. And Jack seemed strangely eager to take orthocone feeding duty for some reason…", Drew replied.

Jack shrugged, and said "What can I say? Leon needs to cool down in my opinion. To be honest, it really must sting for him, doing this without an escape clause." He smiled proudly at his puns before he was brought back to reality by a sudden sharp tug on the rope; a Cameroceras had grabbed the chum box. As in _the entire box_. His eyes widened, "Oh. Shit.". As he struggled to pull the box back up, Drew and Nikolai continued their conversation, "Anyway, komandir, I'm here to enquire about something; you sent a memo to the keeping and security divisions saying we should get more scorpion tanks ready for the forthcoming mission?" Drew gave Nikolai an enthusiastic nod and said, "Yeah. That's because, today, me and Jack are going to 418 million years ago, to where South Wales is today, to rescue Cephalaspis."

Jack gave Drew a confused look, "That's a type of fish, right? Doesn't seem to me like the sort of creature we'd get scorpion tanks ready for. Has it got an identity crisis or something?". He was now trying to walk away from the feeding platform with the rope over his back, focusing half on Drew and second on his desperate attempt to avoid getting pulled into the orthocone tank.

Drew, seemingly ignorant of his comrade's plight, nodded and said, "Yes, it's a fish, but the Silurian was when sea scorpions were at the top of their game; there were loads of species all over the world. Some of them were amongst the largest arthropods of all time."

"That explains why Leon was screaming after the last mission!" Jack said, breathlessly. His situation had not improved; he was now being pulled with the rope and was trying to futilely stand his ground, in order to avoid being inadvertently added to the orthocone's menu.

Ignoring his current situation, Nikolai took Drew to one side, "Excuse me for asking, komandir, but tell me what exactly you plan on doing with Leon if he ever needs to feed the scorpions again? After what happened in the Ordovician, he's completely terrified of them, Collete said he fainted after feeding one and…" Drew was about to respond, when they both turned to see Jack, now digging his heels into the ground in his futile attempt to avoid being pulled forward with the chum box and into the orthocone tank. Nikolai facepalmed, "For crying out loud, Denham, let go of the _chertov_ rope." Jack turned round to register Nikolai, with a puzzled expression. This loss of concentration caused him to let go of the rope, pulling him forward, to a few inches away from the ending of the feeding platform, and sending the chum box careening into the tank, where a large orthocone grabbed it.

After Drew and Nikolai looked at the dazed Jack and went back to their conversation, Drew paused to think for a bit. "Anyway, we'll just have to make sure that the scorpion feeding is handled first." Nikolai nodded in agreement. Jack, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically quiet and nodded, not because he was listening to the conversation, but because he was completely dazed.

Shortly after, Drew and a now recovered Jack left the aquarium and headed to the portal site. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal flared to life at the push of a button. Drew put the portal remote in his pocket and, after making sure the remote was secured , he turned to Jack, who gave him a wink and a thumbs-up. Drew nodded at him and they entered through the portal

After the blinding light from the portal dimmed down, the first thing that hit them was an almost immediate feeling of light-headedness and a sudden, throbbing headache. It wasn't the skull-splitters of the Ordovician, but it was close. Drew and Jack quickly reached for their air mixtures and took a breath. After a short period, the light-headedness began to subside and the headaches gradually ebbed away. After that brief frantic period, they looked up at the Silurian world. And what a world it was.

It was shocking as to how truly little things had changed in thirty million years; the land still looked more like an alien planet than anything on Earth. It was just as featureless as it had been in the Ordovician; it was a barren wasteland of roasting rock, with no apparent signs of life. It was uncannily quiet; as if a nuclear bomb had gone off and wiped out all life on Earth.

Jack commented, "This was around about the time animals first moved onto land, right? It makes you think; how could anything survive, or want to survive, in a place like this?" Drew turned to him and said, overawed, "Life always finds a way. Life gets past all obstacles. Life changes as the world changes. Life goes to new environments, makes new leaps; painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way. Every single time."

Jack turned to him and smiled, "Maybe it's the low oxygen, but there's something about a place like this that makes you go philosophical."

However, they soon found that appearances are often deceiving. The two looked at the area around them and they were surprised. Not to far from them was a batch of plants. The plants were tiny, only a few centimetres tall, and fairly simple looking; there were no leaves, flowers or roots, instead just a green stem, which branched in the middle culminating in two or three yellow rounded bulbs that was shaped like a piece of pollen. "What are those?" Jack asked.

"From what I remember from the notes Theodore sent me, these are Cooksonia. One of the first land plants." Jack turned to Drew, "Amazing, isn't it? From the giant redwood forests of the Pacific Northwest to the savannahs of the African plains, they all evolved from that tiny plant." He gave Drew a lopsided grin, "They're extinct and interesting; does that mean you want to rescue them, fearless leader? I mean, Theodore didn't say that we couldn't rescue botanical species." Drew turned to him and nodded, "Yes, I do. However, we'll need a place to send them. You scout up ahead for anything else while I contact the park."

Jack nodded and proceeded forward, with his dive bag slung over his shoulder, continuing until he reached the coast and saw the ocean. He then looked down and saw a group of scorpions eating a rotting carcass, of what he couldn't identify; the animal looked too decayed to make a conclusive identification. He looked at the scavengers. Aside from the size, they were almost exactly identical to modern scorpions, with eight legs, a pair of long, thin pincers and a long tail, which terminated in a stinger. However, these were much larger than any modern scorpion; they were approximately three feet long, with stingers the size of light bulbs. They were brown, with a little blue and yellow on the back.

He felt silenced by the surprising solemnity of the occasion; he was witnessing some of the first animals ever to crawl out of the water onto land. Jack moved forward to gain a better look, but in doing so, he accidentally knocked a small rock over. The rock rolled away and landed near the scorpions. The scorpions all paused, like stray dogs around a bin, and all turned to the strange, new creature; they began to advance forward, in order to chase this new competitor off their meal. Silently, Jack started backing away from them; he didn't know whether they were venomous or not, but he did not want to find out the hard way. They did not give up on their advance, continuing to move forward kept backing up until he was pressed against the back of a cliff, the scorpions still continuing their remorseless advance. Jack looked to either side and saw another wall on one side and the ocean on the other. Choosing the better option, he took a breath and braced himself.

Back at the park, Yolanda had been partnered with Mia Nelson, one of the keepers, in order to give some of the animals in the aquarium their routine checkups; Linda was busy preparing for the animals that Drew and Jack would bring back. First on their list was the Megalograptus. In order to get to them, they'd have to actually get in the tank; attempts to lure them out onto land had failed. Yolanda zipped up her wetsuit and looked down at the water with a feeling of trepidation; she'd never liked swimming and she'd never been any good at it. Mia, who was now tying her long hair into a bun, was the complete opposite; she had been swimming since she was five years old and had been the star of her swim team in high school, even winning a local championship.

Yolanda's introspection was interrupted by Mia giving her a nudge in the ribs and winking at her, "As my old swim coach said; the sooner you're in, the better", and dived in. Yolanda gulped, nodded and followed her. By the time Yolanda had entered the water, Mia was halfway to the bottom of the tank. Even weighed down by the fish she was carrying, she made Yolanda's attempt at speed-snorkelling seem less than impressive. It was as if she was an aquatic life form herself; there had been a recurring joke amongst the team that she was part mermaid. However, the joke wasn't an unjustified one; she did seem uncannily at home in the water.

Leaving those thoughts out of her head, Yolanda joined Mia at the bottom of the tank. Their first action was to lure Grumpy the Megalograptus out for a checkup. As they got to the cave in which Grumpy spent most of his time, Mia got out a dead fish, cut a piece off it and dangled it over a hook at the entrance of the cave, waiting for him to strike. A few seconds later, with a speed that belied his armoured figure, Grumpy emerged fully from the cave and grabbed the bait, hooking into it with his barbs. Grumpy stared at both of the humans outside of his tank and hissed at them, before grabbing his prize and dragging it into his grotto to eat in private. Yolanda nodded to Mia; she'd gotten all the observations she needed, and they swam up to the surface. They repeated the process with every individual Megalograptus; they could be told apart by the numbers and coloured tags on their back paddles. Once they had finished checking on the Megalograptus swarm, they got out of their wetsuits and changed into their park uniforms. Their next port of call was the Anomalocaris tank; Linda had asked them to check on how Squishy's injuries were healing. Yolanda had let Mia go on ahead when she suddenly ran into Leon. From his body language, she could tell that he was, quite clearly, nervous; his eyes were darting in every direction and he was playing with his fingers. Confused as to what he wanted, she asked "Can I help you with something?"

Leon breathed out and awkwardly looked at the Megalograptus tank, before saying, in a slightly embarrassed tone, "I noticed you're really good with the scorpions." Yolanda looked confused; the emphasis he had put on that last word was rather strange. It was as if he was too scared to even risk alluding to the creatures. She put those thoughts out of her head as he continued, "And I was just wondering if you could teach me how to deal with them?"


	9. The First Steps Part 2

Jack emerged from the water, gasping for breath. Wiping his lips clean of the salt, he remembered what diving into the ocean without a mask felt like; he'd done that for a dare from a particularly malicious cousin as a child. He cursed himself inwardly; why did he have to do that, when he could have just distracted them somehow and slipped away. He looked around, both to see if the scorpions had followed him into the water (he didn't know the exact species of his attackers, but he did know that they could be semi-aquatic) and to see if he'd gone too far. He saw the scorpions, just a few feet away; having chased off the interloper, they continued their patrol of the shoreline, ignoring him as they walked away. He breathed out in relief, he hadn't ended up too far from the location he'd left. As he looked on, another bonus became apparent; his dive bag was sitting where he'd left it, completely intact. After waiting in the shallows for a minute, he crawled back onto land. He saw that Drew had headed to the area and was looking at him with a frown on his face, "Dare I ask as to why you were goofing off in the water? I asked you to scout ahead whilst I contacted the park to make a place for the Cooksonia and I find you in the sea. What possessed you to do that?"

Jack gave him a glare and said, "I was not goofing off, by any definition of the word. What I was doing was escaping from five very, very pissed off giant scorpions." Drew gave him a weird look, "Jack, seriously, what happened? Please elaborate on 'pissed off giant scorpions'".

Jack rolled his eyes and clarified, "Yeah, I suppose that isn't a good place to start. The scorpions were on the beach, scavenging a carcass. They weren't going to eat me, but I think they were definitely trying to kill me. They had huge stingers; the size of light bulbs, at least. I didn't know whether their venom would be deadly or not, but I didn't want to find out the hard way." Jack's mention of the stinger's size peaked Drew's interest, "What did they look like?"

Jack put two fingers on his chin, recalling the description of his assailants, "They looked pretty much exactly like modern scorpions. However, they were a lot larger; about the same size as a Golden Retriever." Drew thought for a moment before it hit him, "I've got it! You must have encountered some Brontoscorpio; that's a pretty common sea scorpion at this time. They're about that size, and can also come out of the water onto land; possibly to scavenge carcasses that get washed up on the coastline. Where did you see them?"

Jack pointed to the area, a short distance away, where the scorpions had stalked him to, "By the cliff side, not too far from here. Why? Are they important in the environment somehow? Aside from being amongst the first creatures to take the first steps onto land, that is."

Drew turned to him and smiled, "They are the main predators of Cephalaspis. If we find them we should have an easier time finding our target species; they'd go where the Cephalaspis are." Jack rolled his eyes and grinned, "Well, let's get suited up and find them then. And, who knows, we might get two species for the price of one."

Back at the park, Mia, Yolanda and Leon were currently clad in wetsuits ready to dive into the Megalograptus tank. Mia and Yolanda had little fear of the creatures lurking beneath the water and were preparing for the dive with a detached efficiency; they'd done this before and had little to be afraid of. However, Leon was quaking in his boots at the prospect of encountering the erstwhile creatures that had dog piled him in the Ordovician again. Mia turned to him and said, in a calm voice, "OK, the first thing you've got to do is remember that if the scorpions swarm you, it's not because they want to eat you. You're too large a meal for them". Yolanda nodded, and said in response, "Yeah, all they want the bait you're holding. I read the mission report and the Megalograptus swarmed you because they wanted to get to the fish in the bait barrel", pointing to the fish Leon had.

"Yeah, but what if they decide a bit of turf with their surf?", an alarmed Leon said, as he was pacing around the edge of the tank, like a criminal awaiting punishment. He sat onto a nearby chair and sighed, "This was a stupid, stupid idea. I mean, how likely is it that I'll have to work with scorpions again?" After a few minutes, he exhaled, got up and reluctantly made his way to the edge of the tank; if it had to be done, it had best be done now. Screwing his eyes shut, he dived into the water. Mia yelled some words of what could be taken as encouragement, "Don't worry, the sooner you get in, the better you feel". Yolanda thanked her friend for her help and dove in after him.

Leon freaked out the instant he opened his eyes and realized his situation. There were Megalograptus everywhere he could possibly look and they were all watching him, as if waiting expectantly for his next move. He had a flashback to being used as a living ladder by some of these very creatures in the camp in the Ordovician, rooting him to the spot. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Yolanda looking at him with a smile. He smiled back; at least this time, he wasn't alone.

"Don't panic… you'll lose air." She told him, the last part added hastily. Once she was aware Leon had calmed down, she said, "Now follow my lead, we'll start with Grumpy. Mia and I found, for better or for worse, he's the most human-accustomed out of all of them" Leon gave a gulp as they swam towards the cave that Grumpy spent most of his time in. Thoughts were flooding in Leon's head, alongside his flashbacks; Grumpy hadn't been saddled with his moniker for nothing. Despite his fairly small size, Grumpy was probably the most aggressive animal they had at the park at the moment. When they reached his little grotto, Leon watched as Yolanda grabbed her bait, put it on the end of the hook, dangled it outside of the have and waited for a response. She didn't have to wait long; Grumpy's brownish-yellow form partially emerged from the tunnel entrance, impaled the fish on his long barbs and withdrew back into his cave. Leon was rigid; he didn't want to approach the cave where he knew Grumpy lurked. He could feel Grumpy's eyes staring back at him, as if saying "Do ya feel lucky, punk? Do ya?"

He was brought back to reality by Mia's voice ringing over the communicator, "They can sense fear, you know. If you show it, they will take advantage of you; you need to not be afraid of them". In response to this, Leon nodded and Yolanda urged him forward, passing him the other half of the fish. Leon swam to the entrance of the cave with the rod in his hand, shaking with nervousness as he got closer to the cave, with a sense of fearful trepidation as to what would happen. He dangled the rod, waiting for the arthropod to take the offering. Soon, without warning, Grumpy lunged fully out of the cave and hooked his barbs into the fish, impaling it. He looked at the humans in front of him, hissed at them and swam back into his grotto to eat his meal alone. It took thirty seconds for Leon to realise what had been happening; his heart had been racing and he had been almost quaking with terror as Grumpy had grabbed the food, yet he had stood his ground. Even the other Megalograptus had been watching the spectacle, as if almost impressed by the fact that this human who'd fled before didn't this time. Leon, both shocked and elated at what had just happened and what he had just accomplished, turned to Yolanda, who was wearing a smile on her face, "Well, that's Step 1 complete; and they say that the first step's the hardest."

Back in the Silurian, Drew and Jack had donned their diving gear and were currently swimming through the Silurian sea in a search for either of their two target species. The sea was beautiful; it somehow appeared brighter and more vibrant than the Cambrian or Ordovician seas. It appeared more like a present-day reef, with sea urchins, corals and shells recognisable. Suddenly, they briefly paused as an enormous creature emerged in front of them. As it moved into full view, they could identify it; it was a surprisingly, and refreshingly, familiar face. The creature in front of them was a gigantic Cameroceras, sailing past them, taking little to no notice of the tiny creatures watching it.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that to turn up; I thought they'd gone extinct in the Ordovician!" Jack said, both awed and shocked at the sudden appearance of a representative of the species that, previously, had nearly dragged him to an early death.

Drew nodded, overawed, "Yes. Cameroceras was a very successful species; it lasted until the Devonian. And we could use an extra one at the park, so I say that we rescue this one." As he said this, Drew grabbed the remote, aimed it in the giant's approximate direction and turned on the portal. The colossal cephalopod went through slowly, segment by segment. As he observed this, Jack was awestruck; he hadn't seen the Cameroceras at the park being brought back, so this was a new experience for him. After the last segment disappeared through, the portal was shut off. "Shouldn't we have told Kyle and Nikolai about the unexpected arrival first?" Jack asked nervously, "I'd imagine they wouldn't appreciate anything… unexpected."

Drew shook his head and said, "No. I mean we already have some at the park, so they'll know how to move it." Jack grinned mischievously and said, "So you wanted to keep it a surprise, fearless leader?" Drew gave a matching grin and nodded; Kyle would have the shock of his life.

Continuing their search, Drew and Jack swam closer to the ocean floor and saw the oddest-looking fish that either of them had ever seen grazing at the bottom. There was a vague similarity in appearance between it and the Astraspis back at the park; like the Astraspis, it was jawless, but there the similarities ended. The most notable difference was in its head, which was more prominent than the Astraspis and was far more distinct in relation to the rest of its body. The head was disproportionately large in comparison to the rest of its body and heavily armoured, giving the fish a top-heavy look. The body appeared to be much smaller than the enormous head. Another distinction between it and the Astraspis was that it had fins; two small ones on its belly, near the head, and another on its back, near the base of its tail. The fish's entire body was a greenish yellow, making it perfectly camouflaged with its environment.

Jack pointed at the fish and said to Drew, "Is that what we're looking for?" Drew nodded, "Yes, it's Cephalaspis!", as he and Jack swam closer to the fish to catch it. The fish, oblivious to them, was still grazing; as a bonus, it was gradually moving closer towards them. Suddenly, the fish turned around and froze, staring intently at an area of the seabed. The fish stopped grazing and, swishing its tail rapidly from side to side, quickly swam away. Compared to the sedate manner it had been swimming in before, this sudden burst of speed was unusual. Confused, Drew and Jack began to swim after it. However, they soon learned the very reason it had escaped. As they touched the ocean floor, the sand suddenly seemed to erupt as if, by their very touching it, they had incurred the wrath of some monstrous entity.


	10. The First Steps Part 3

As they touched the ocean floor, the sand suddenly seemed to erupt as if, by their very touching it, they had incurred the wrath of some monstrous entity. The two explorers quickly swam up to escape the beast they had inadvertently awakened.

"Oh great, we awoke Cthulhu!", Jack said in a mix of anger, surprise, and a bit of sarcasm. Drew rolled his eyes and looked down at the creature, which had now emerged fully from its sandy hideaway. The best way to describe it would be a cross between a scorpion and a lobster. The main difference between it and either of those animals, was that it was titanic; from head to tail, it must have been about the size of a crocodile. The creature looked up and attempted to grab the two creatures that had disturbed it, flailing one massive pincer into the air, inches away from Drew's foot. Seeing that there was no prey of appropriate size, the scorpion then buried itself in the sand from whence it came.

Drew and Jack watched the spectacle open-mouthed; as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Jack turned to Drew and quietly said, "Uh, fearless leader? Do you mind if I ask one teeny tiny question; WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Drew suddenly turned to him and said, in a voice that was barely above a whisper; "Quiet! You might alert it again. From the notes Theodore sent me, I think it's a Pterygotus; the largest of the sea scorpions and the largest arthropod of all time. It was on Theodore's target list; that's why we made two scorpion tanks, so we can have both these and Brontoscorpio at the park."

Right as Drew had finished talking, they noticed that a Brontoscorpio had appeared and had begun walking in the direction of the Pterygotus. Unlike the Cephalaspis, it didn't change course; it was almost as if it was searching for it. The Brontoscorpio abruptly stopped, lifted its pincers and moved forward to grab something. Suddenly, the sand erupted and the Brontoscorpio suddenly froze, realising what a serious mistake it had just made. Before it had any time to react, a giant claw emerged from the sand and grabbed it, holding it in place, as the Pterygotus fully emerged. Using its giant claws, the Pterygotus tore the scorpion apart. As pieces of the killed Brontoscorpio landed on the sand, smaller versions of the giant emerged and began to eat the pieces. Jack and Drew gave a surprised look; the Pterygotus was feeding her young! That was why the Brontoscorpio had approached the Pterygotus in the first place; it was searching for prey. Jack tried to dive closer to the monstrous family and use a dead fish to lure them to the portal, but he was met with a snap from the mother's claw.

He re-joined Drew, "So, fearless leader, how are we going to bring Scorpio-zilla back? Bait won't work; that carcass is going to keep them occupied for quite a while. If you want my opinion, we try the sonar. Maybe it can gather any others that might be hiding as well." "You just read my mind, buddy", Drew said, as he reached into his pocket and grabbed the sonar device. Drew passed Jack the portal remote and pressed down on the sonar device, sending out a sonar wave that caused the giant creatures to move. He pressed it several times, leading both the Pterygotus family (with the young being carried on their mother's back) and several others in the vicinity towards the area where they planned to open the portal. When they'd reached the area, Jack pressed the button to open the portal and Drew herded the giants through, into the present. Once the last giant had gone through, Drew shut off the portal. Jack, awestruck at the spectacle, turned to Drew and smiled, "Our luck's improving! This might be our easiest mission yet!"

At the park, Kyle and Nikolai were looking at the extra Cameroceras Drew and Jack had brought back. The unexpected arrival was feasting on some food in her holding tank, waiting to be transferred to the orthocone tank in the aquarium. Whilst the move from portal site to holding tank had been easy, Kyle was clearly not happy, "Why couldn't he just say that he planned on rescuing another one of those squids and save me yet another headache?" Nikolai sighed and said "Kyle, honestly, given what he and Denham are like, I was expecting much worse. At least we had barely a problem transporting these creatures when Drew first brought them back. Anyway, I suppose Drew thought that we had more than enough room in the tank for another."

Kyle breathed out, "I know, I know, but, honestly, could Drew just bring back something that's not going to give me a heart attack?" Just after Kyle said that, the portal whirred opened and a gigantic Pterygotus swam through, followed by several more of its kind. Within a few minutes, several giant sea scorpions were swimming round the portal site and had settled on the sandy floor. Kyle looked at the new arrivals, openmouthed, for a few seconds, his eye twitching as memories of moving the Megalograptus just five days ago came back to him; he'd been drenched by a creature barely a third these monsters' size. Kyle breathed out and turned to Nikolai. He said, in an exasperated tone, "Koli, could you please call some help? I need a freaking drink." He left while Nikolai, after wincing from his hated nickname being used again, stared at him and muttered briefly "One of these days, Kyle. One of these days", and got out his walkie talkie to contact the nearest keepers for some aid.

Meanwhile, at the aquarium, Leon was ecstatic. He'd done something he'd thought he'd never do; feeding the Megalograptus. He reflected on the past day's events; Yolanda and Mia's help and support had worked in leaps and bounds. Whilst he was still wary of them, he could now go near them without having a panic attack. He'd even lost his fear of Grumpy.

Yolanda and Mia looked at him with smiles on their faces; they were proud of the progress Leon had made, with their help. Suddenly, Yolanda heard her park communicator go off. Quickly, she picked it up, saying "Yello?". She had a brief conversation with the person on the other side and, once she had hung up, she turned to Leon with a smile on her face. "It was Nikolai. It seems Drew brought back another scorpion species; apparently, they're big ones too. I think it's time for your next lesson." Yolanda and Mia began to walk out before Yolanda paused and turned to Leon, "If you think you can handle it, of course", with a tone of worry and concern noticeable in her voice.

Leon smiled and shook his head, "Oh please, after dealing with these little devils, how hard can these guys possibly be?" Leon soon was forced to eat his words, as he looked down into the tank and saw the biggest arthropods he had even seen. Yolanda and Mia were also watching, dumbstruck at the titans Drew and Jack had brought back, as Nikolai began talking to them.

"Impressive, aren't they? Anyways, thank you for responding so quickly. We need them out of the way, in case Drew decides to rescue more animals; knowing what both he and Denham are like, we'll have to do it quickly. God knows what will take their fancy next." He than turned to Leon and asked. "Given you are the resident animal expert, I assume you might know the species of scorpion these are?"

Leon muttered to himself, "Why didn't I just assume what it was going to be? Of course, of all creatures, Drew and Jack would bring back Pterygotus." He then turned to the others to explain more. "These guys are Pterygotus; some of the Silurian's apex predators. To be honest, this is a positive; no sea scorpions, or arthropods in general, can get bigger than these guys. If Drew and Jack bring anything else back, it'll be smaller than these. And as for moving them… there's one thing I just wanted to ask; how did you move the Megalograptus the first time?"

Mia slowly breathed out and said, "It wasn't easy. We had to literally pick them up, one by one, and move them into the holding tank. Moving one got us all drenched."

"Well, considering their size, picking them up is out of the question.", Leon stopped to think for a bit. "I have an idea. Maybe we should try luring them in with some bait, like what you guys did with the orthocones." A few minutes later, a watching keeper dumped some fish guts into the holding tank, as the connecting door opened. After several minutes, the Pterygotus swam in, one by one, towards the smell of food, with the young being carried on their mother's back. Once the last of the giants had entered, the door closed. The team stared, amazed; this had, surprisingly, gone off without a hitch. Leon's plan had been a success. The team cheered, with Yolanda giving Leon a hug, in response to which he blushed. Nikolai chuckled to himself; Kyle was going to love hearing about this.

Back in the Silurian, Drew and Jack had entered a rocky area of the reef. In comparison to the vibrant location of everywhere seemed strangely quiet, as if everything was avoiding the place. Suddenly, an enormous scorpion emerged and snapped its pincers at them. They looked at each other in awful recognition of where they had found themselves; they had stumbled into Brontoscorpio territory and they definitely weren't welcome. They looked up to find that at least thirty large Brontoscorpio were standing on various areas of the rock, casting intent glares at the humans below them.

Jack's eyes widened and said, "Well, at least I got to put my foot in my mouth. Erm, fearless leader? If you've got a plan you'd like to share with me, then now would be a very good time! Our welcoming committee aren't exactly impressed with us." True to Jack's words, the scorpions all looked at the two intruders and started to advance towards them.

Drew gave him a knowing smile; "O ye of little faith, I _**do**_ have a plan and it's a cracker. Grab the bait bag and get ready to empty it on my mark." Confused, Jack picked up the bait bag, as the Brontoscorpio began to surround them, still continuing their remorseless advance. When the Brontoscorpio swarm had gotten too close for comfort, Drew activated the portal. The scorpions recoiled at the glowing orb, staring stupefied at it for what seemed like an eternity, until Jack emptied the bait bag's entire contents through the portal. The scorpions, moving like a single entity, dived through the portal after the fish guts,. When the last one had disappeared, Drew turned off the portal. Jack, for once, was silent. After a few minutes, he said "WOW! That was awesome!"

At the park, the crew were currently watching the Pterygotus, with Mia especially intently watching the mother Pterygotus and her young. For once this had been a success; no drawbacks, no accidents, no nothing. Maybe it was luck or maybe it was a sign they were getting better at it; they would be ready for whatever Drew and Jack brought back next. Suddenly, the portal flared again and over thirty giant scorpions poured through, moving as if a single, unified creature. There were so many, they carpeted the bottom of the holding tank. Everyone turned to Leon for an explanation

Leon, having perked up, smiled and said "Brontoscorpio, a smaller type of sea scorpion; actually, it was one of the first creatures to go out of the sea onto dry land. And , before any of you ask, there isn't an Apatoscorpio." Mia groaned at Leon's awful pun, whilst Yolanda, watching from the platform, moved a bit closer to get a better view of the new creatures. This turned out to be a terrible mistake; a particularly large Brontoscorpio, attracted by the vibrations , crawled towards her and struck out with its stinger, landing a blow so powerful it cracked the glass. Yolanda, shocked, took a step back and slipped on the wet platform, freefalling twenty feet into the tank below.

To be continued


	11. The First Steps Part 4

Everyone watched, dumbstruck in horror, as Yolanda plummeted twenty feet off the platform into the tank. After a few seconds, she emerged, unharmed by the fall and grabbed on to the tank's edges. She groggily looked around, before giving a sudden yelp of pain, as a Brontoscorpio grabbed her ankle in a vice-like grip and began to pull her into the tank. The struggle lasted for several minutes. However the arachnid's pull was irresistible against her weak grip and it won out, forcibly pulling Yolanda into the water. As she ineffectually attempted to struggle the Brontoscorpio's grasp, she bashed her head on the tank walls; she was unconscious. As her barely conscious body fell into the water, the Brontoscorpio began to mob her, like vultures about a kill on the African savannah, fighting over who would be the first to claim this unexpected bounty.

Nikolai, somehow remaining cool-headed, turned to Mia and barked "Help her!". Mia promptly climbed into the tank and attempted to grab her unconscious friend. However, she had trouble moving Yolanda out of the pool; her added weight was slowing her down. All she could do was keep Yolanda's head above water, so she could breathe. The Brontoscorpio, easily able to catch up, remorselessly advanced towards her; they would not be cheated of their prey so easily. They surrounded Mia and the unconscious Yolanda, lashing out with the pincers in an attempt to reclaim their prize. Mia yelled from the pool, dodging the pincers of one angered Brontoscorpio lashed out at her, "I need some help!"

Suddenly, Leon, looking intently at the unfolding chaos, put his walkie-talkie and glasses down and began to move closer to the edge of the platform. Nikolai turned to him, with an expression of open-mouthed shock, "Gilbertson, what are you doing?!". In response, Leon turned to Nikolai and smiled, "Facing my fears, once and for all." And then, without warning, he dived into the tank, deaf to any plea or order to stop. Nikolai turned to the keeper operating the doors, "Open the doors to Holding Tank Two; just in case they need some help". As he landed, several Brontoscorpio scattered. For those first few moments, he was blind; he didn't have diving equipment on and the salty water stung his eyes. However, he reached the surface and opened his eyes, ignoring the pain to focus on the more important situation; getting Yolanda and Mia out of here. He soon found Mia, still holding the unconscious Yolanda, being mobbed by several Brontoscorpio, one of which had now grabbed Mia's foot. Leon swam up to it and with all his strength grabbed it, pulling it out of Mia's foot. The Brontoscorpio landed on its back, righting itself quickly and clicking its pincers in a threat gesture towards this unexpected arrival.

Leon turned to Mia, "You hold them off; I'll get her out of here", and began to swim with the unconscious Yolanda, making sure to keep her head above water. However, Leon, weighed down by Yolanda, was swimming rather slowly, and several of the Brontoscorpio were pursuing him. One particularly confident individual clamped its pincer around his foot, attempting to drag him into the water. Within an instant, several more were on him, pulling him in different directions, as he struggled to keep moving forward. Mia's situation was little better; she was being overwhelmed by the Brontoscorpio swarm. She had managed to dislodge several, however, when she had dislodged one, several more proceeded to take its place. They had now surrounded her; there was nowhere she could run. One advanced menacingly towards her and lifted its stinger in the air, chittering in triumph. Suddenly, the Brontoscorpio scattered into all directions, fleeing to every corner of the tank, with some even attempting to climb out and failing.

Mia soon saw the reason why; an enormous female Pterygotus, carrying her young on her back, had entered the tank, looming menacingly over the Brontoscorpio. The Brontoscorpio cowered in the face of this greater predator; all trying to move as far away from it as possible. Their being distracted gave both Leon and Mia time to swim out of the tank and leave, Leon still carrying the unconscious Yolanda. He than emerged from the water and quickly swam to the ladder. After he got out, he checked if the unconscious Yolanda was still breathing. Suddenly, her eyes opened and she weakly smiled, "You idiot; you did all that to save me." She then grabbed him in a clumsy hug, which was met by a sheepish grin by Leon. This moment of intimacy was interrupted when Nikolai cleared his throat and Leon and Yolanda, realizing the position they were in, quickly broke up, blushing. Leon breathed out; boy was he glad Jack wasn't there to see this.

Meanwhile, Drew and Jack were watching the last of the scorpions go through the portal. After the final one had disappeared through, Jack gave out a sigh of relief, "Thank God for that. I'd hate this tale to end with a sting; at least, we had an escape clause." Drew turned to him, confused, "Even frightened, you can't help but make jokes, can you, Jack?" Jack smiled sheepishly and said, "Jokes are my coping mechanism, fearless leader. Make light of the humour in any situation and you'll be OK.". They were interrupted by a large school of Cephalaspis. They were all swimming in a certain direction; it was almost organised. Jack looked at the spectacle and said, "Looks like a migration to me. Wonder where they're heading?"

"I don't know, but I think I have an idea. Come on, let's head back to camp." In response to this, Jack gave Drew a questioning look as to the relevance of getting back on land. After some time of deliberation, he assumed that it was because they needed to collect the Cooksonia; Drew had filled him in that a place in the park was ready for them. Jack was half right, as they carefully gathered a decent amount of Cooksonia from the Silurian beach and placed it onto a large cart, ready to send back to the 21st century. However, after they had finished with that task, Jack saw Drew follow the sea, until his gaze reached a small pond.

Drew walked up to the pond to make sure that his assumption was correct. Jack gaped at the spectacle; crossing a small land bridge into the pond, were hundreds of Cephalaspis. Drew looked at the spectacle and smiled, "As I thought, the Cephalaspis go into freshwater to breed. Given what some fish are like, it's likely that these guys probably hatched from this same pond and, somehow, used both memory and navigation skills to find it again. It's like I always say; life always finds away."

Jack suddenly looked at him, quizzically, "I understand that; I mean, lots of fish do it, like sturgeon. However, there's still one thing I'm still not getting. That one from before fled so suddenly because it somehow detected that Scorpio-zilla was lurking in the sand, before the Brontoscorpio did, right? How?"

Drew turned to him and smiled, "Glad you asked, actually; it's thought that Cephalaspis had sensors in in its skin, like many fish species today, which it could use to detect vibrations. This gave them an early warning system against predators. This is why I'm glad we found them here, otherwise catching them would be a nightmare."

The two continued to watch as fish after fish, one by one, crossed the tiny land bridge into the pond to lay their eggs. However, there were some who never made it across; five Brontoscorpio, attracted by the spectacle, would occasionally grab one and drag it off to be devoured. Drew suddenly turned to see Jack staring at the scorpions open-mouthed; with an expression from beyond the grave, "It's them! The scorpions from before!" Drew gave him a questioning look, "How can you tell that those five are the same ones from before?"

"Because, fearless leader, I have been noticing that every Brontoscorpio has a different shell pattern and I'd recognise those patterns anywhere!" Drew smiled at him and said, "Well, if that's the case, why don't you go apologize to your little friends?" Drew gave Jack a small push and they walked towards the pond. Jack gave Drew a glare as he walked over to the scorpions, stopping once he saw the scorpions noticed him. Paralyzed with fear, he began to stammer, "Oh, erm… well, this is awkward. Hey, guys. Uh, remember me? Yeah, I was just thinking about… well, you know how I kind of rudely interrupted your lunch. Well, how about we let bygones be bygones… would that be OK?" The scorpions ignored him, continuing to grab fish from the throng.

Drew faced palmed at Jack's attempt at a "diversion"; it clearly wasn't working, since the scorpions weren't paying him any attention. However, they seemed distracted anyway; they weren't grabbing any more fish. With them occupied, Drew got closer to the bridge of rock separating the pond from the sea and turned the portal on. Immediately, the Cephalaspis began swimming through the portal, with many disappearing through the glowing orb. Drew kept the portal for about 10 minutes, before, after about seventy had entered the portal, and turned off the portal. Drew, then, turned to Jack who was currently still talking to the scorpions, who were starting to clack their pincers in irritation. Drew rolled his eyes and turned the portal on. Jack grabbed a dead Cephalapsis and threw it through the portal. The Brontoscorpio quintet pursued it, like dogs after a tennis ball.

After shutting it off, Drew and Jack went back to camp, packed up their supplies and grabbed the cart full of Cooksonia, ready to take back through the portal. They turned and gave one last look on the pond which still had Cephalaspis going into it; the immediate threat had been removed, but more Brontoscorpio would find the spawning ground. They turned the portal on, smiled at each other, and pushed the cart through. Once they made it back, they were met with a stern look from Nikolai, "Komandir, please tell me that the only reason you didn't warn us about any of this ahead of time was because the communicator was somehow broken." And, after a brief lecture about why they had the thing in the first place, the animals and plants were put into their new homes.

After a few days, everything had gone back to normal; well, normal for PE, anyway. The Cooksonia were put in a special room in the newly built Discovery Outpost, with a specially simulated Silurian atmosphere and the Cameroceras was fitting in well with the existing school. The Cephalaspis were kept in a large tank which was made up to stimulate a Silurian seabed; it was very sandy, and had lots of algae growing in it. There was even a specially made freshwater part of the tank, separate from the main portion, where the shoal could reproduce, one day. The Pterygotus had been given a fairly large tank and were either swimming or resting at the bottom, waiting for food to arrive. They had proven to be surprisingly docile; they were rather easy for the handlers to feed. The female Pterygotus, who Mia had dubbed Hepetet, was resting on the bottom, covered by sand, waiting for food to arrive. The Brontoscorpio tank had been the easiest to construct; they simply copied the Megalograptus tank. The only noticeable difference was that it had a more prominent land area, in case they wanted to leave the water. And it was currently, their feeding time.

"OK", the feeder thought. "It'll be as easy as putting one foot in front of the other. Just go in, dump the food, and get out before they notice. Don't show any fear; they can sense fear and they'll be drawn to it. Right, here goes everything". He opened the door and with lightning speed, dumped the bucket of fish guts into the water's edge, before he suddenly noticed five large Brontoscorpio in his way. He, just as quickly, ran back, slamming the door behind him so hard it could have fallen off. Jack Denham remained there for a few minutes, panting and wheezing, as he got his breath back; hopefully he wouldn't have to go in there for a while. Suddenly, he heard someone snickering. He turned to see Leon standing, perfectly relaxed, against one of the aquarium walls, barely resisting the urge to laugh. Jack gave him a worried look, "How many this time?". Leon, still smirking with glee, put his hand on his chin and began to think, "Oh, about 12." Jack stared at him for several minutes, completely flabbergasted, before looking at the ceiling and yelling "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!". Leon walked up to him and said, quite calmly, "Jack, buddy, maybe you should leave this job to a professional. After all, I think the Cameroceras are beginning to miss you."

Jack quickly handed the bucket to Leon and watched as he confidently walked into the enclosure and threw the fish guts. It was surprisingly easy; the Brontoscorpio were not as tame as the Pterygotus, but they definitely weren't as aggressive as the Megalograptus. They weren't even particularly dangerous, as Khatin and the Research Division had found out, when they had studied their venom; they discovered that it wasn't particularly deadly to humans. Leon smiled; he was living evidence of that. It was only until later that he realised that he, Mia and Yolanda had been stung multiple times during their little encounter with them. The only consequence was that they had felt a bit dizzy and nauseous for a couple of days. Jack looked at him, his expression a combination of jealousy and amazement. As soon as Leon exited the tank, wearing a smug smile, Jack took him to one side and whispered in his ear, "Leon, mate, could you teach me how to handle those things?!" Leon stared at him and chuckled; it seemed the student had become the teacher.

Elsewhere Drew was talking to Theodore over the computer. Drew had given him a rundown of the progress they'd made; Theodore had chortled when Drew had related to him the story of Leon and the Megalograptus and had looked overawed at Drew's recount of bringing back the Cameroceras. He smiled at Drew and said, "I have to say, I am proud of the progress you've made. You're succeeding beyond my wildest dreams. I can tell you can't wait for the next mission and, don't worry, it will be soon. But first, I must ask you something; Drew, are you up for a challenge?" Drew smiled, "What kind of challenge?" Theodore grinned, "That's the spirit! Get the whole team ready, there are two places I'd like you to go…"

 **Next time, the team go back to the Devonian to save one of the first amphibians**

 **(A salamander-like creature emerges from the water)**

 **However, they have to handle the deadliest creatures they've encountered so far; vicious aquatic predators**

 **(An enormous fish hauls itself out onto land)**

 **That make sharks look like goldfish.**

 **(A large, armoured fish grabs and eats a shark)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Life In Transition.**

Animals brought back:

Cameroceras trentonese: 1 (1 female)

Brontoscorpio anglicus: 36 (18 males, 18 females)

Cooksonia pertoni: 38

Pterygotus anglicus: 9 (5 males, 4 females)

Cephalaspis lyelli: 67 ( 22 males, 45 females)


	12. Life In Transition Part 1

Chapter 4: Life in Transition

Adrian and Alice were in one of the park Jeeps, heading to where the mission target was supposed to live. Prior to today, all of the animals rescued at Prehistoric Earth had been housed in the Aquarium; however, that would soon come to an end. Drew hadn't told them what the target species was; they had assumed it was some sort of amphibian since, according to the info-packs, amphibians had started to come onto land at this time. However, once they reached the location, they were in for a shock. They saw construction crews all over the place, constructing an incredibly large tank. The tank was much bigger than most other structures in the park so far; it waa big enough to contain an entire school of great whites. In the distance, they could see Kyle, barking orders at the workmen, like a drill sergeant.

"Make sure that the viewing area glass is as strong as it can get! This beast is a dangerous one!" Adrian turned and looked, open-mouthed, at the sign that told them of their location, tapping Alice's shoulder, so they both could get a look at it. The sign had a picture of a mosasaur on it and had "Hell's Oceans" emblazoned on it. They looked at each other and gulped nervously.

(Intro theme)

At his office Drew currently was discussing the mission plans with Jack, who was eagerly standing at attention, and Leon, who was currently writing down what Drew was saying. "-Precaution is of the upmost importance. We've never dealt with something this dangerous before!", he turned to Jack and whispered conspiratorially, "Leon probably won't survive." Leon's eyes widened, as the end of his pencil broke off and he looked at Drew nervously. Drew smiled at him, "I'm kidding, Leon", before muttering "hopefully", under his breath as Jack looked superciliously at him. The trio were about to head out when Adrian and Alice arrived in the room. "Ah, I was just about to look for you two."

"Drew… this is kind of our first mission alone so we were wondering if maybe we could go another time. I'd hate to be near whatever you created a an exhibit called Hell's Oceans for." Adrian said awkwardly, as Alice nodded in agreement. The trio looked at the three for a bit before laughing. Alice and Adrian stared at them in confusion before Leon calmed down, "Dude, you're not coming with us to Ohio, you're going to Pennsylvania, which is much less dangerous than Ohio during the Devonian."

Drew began to take over, "You guys are heading back to 360 million years ago. Your target species is Hynerpeton, one of the world's first amphibians. We figured you'd prefer that over going with us and saving a Dunkleosteus, a large carnivorous armoured fish." He then proceeded to hand them a small journal and a remote. "Use the journal to identify any animals you see and the remote is used to open the time portal; Theodore sent another remote over last night. We can manage two simultaneous missions now. Anyway, I would love to stay and chat with you two but we have to prepare the _Ancient Mariner_. Be careful and remember; no species left behind." Drew then patted them on the shoulders and left, with Leon following him. Jack stayed a few minutes, to give his sister a good luck nudge in the ribs, before he joined Drew and Leon at the holding tanks, where the Ancient Mariner was waiting for them. Alice and Adrian waited several minutes, before coming down with enough supplies to last them a week.

Drew, Jack and Leon looked upon the Ancient Mariner, with a sense of awe. She was, formerly, a whale watching boat, until her captain and crew were tempted by Theodore's offer to travel around the world, (with a regular paycheque). The first portal opened and the Mariner went through. Shortly after, the portal was moved to the freshwater holding tanks and was opened using the second remote. Alice and Adrian looked at each other and went through.

When they reached their destination, the first thing they noticed was the air. Unlike the Cambrian, the air was actually breathable; the air mixes were no longer required. The next thing they noticed was the large amount of trees; the land was covered in large forests, with tall trees stretching as far as the eye could see. In the air, they could hear the buzzing of insects and, on the forest floor, they could see millipede-like creatures crawling through the leaf litter. The Earth was starting to look more recognizable; compared to the previous landscapes, this looked very much like a present day forest.

They snapped out of their awe at this beautiful scene, for a few minutes. Adrian turned to Alice and said, "OK, Drew said Hynerpeton was an amphibian. That means, whilst it can go onto land, it has to stay near the water. I say we go to the nearest large body of water and look there." They looked through the trees to find a large waterfall, cascading down to a wide river. Alice breathed out "I'm guessing we look there."

At Ohio, the yacht emerged from the portal and landed with a small splash. Drew decided to check with the crew, to make sure everything was in order, leaving Jack and Leon alone on the deck. Jack turned to Leon and said, in a snarky tone, "OK, so should I use a worm or a piece of meat? 'Cos I don't know if it likes worms or not." Leon looked at Jack with a deadpan expression, "Jack, Dunkleosteus weights five tons."

Jack smiled, subtly, and rolled his eyes, "Really? Well, we're going to need a bigger fishing pole. In fact…" he waggled his eyebrows at Leon, as he pulled a larger fishing pole out, "we're gonna need a bigger boat". Leon rolled his eyes and stared at him, open-mouthed, "Were you seriously going to try and catch it with a fishing pole? Did anything Drew said to you make any sense?!" Jack grinned at him in response, "Well, the image would be funny. I'm joking, Leon, I'm _joking_ ; I said it 'cos it was funny. Are jokes not funny in your world?" As he said this, he calmly cast his rod over the ship and sat down waiting for something to respond to the bait. Leon looked at him like he'd gone crazy, "Did you not just hear what I said?!"

Jack gave him a flabbergasted look, "Uh, Leon, need I repeat; I was joking. I'm actually using this for something else; Drew said we should put a line out for some smaller creatures", he replied, "He mustn't have told you that. That or you weren't listening.", he said in a smartass tone, with a smug grin on his face. Leon growled a bit and stalked off. Drew had been watching the event. He was starting to wonder the wisdom of putting Jack and Leon on the same team. He hoped that Adrian and Alice were having better luck.

In Pennsylvania , Adrian and Alice had just arrived at the waterfall. The area was noticeable by its quietness; there was a suspicious and surprising absence of giant amphibians. Adrian looked around sheepishly, "Uh, Alice, I think I might have miscalculated. There aren't any there." Alice gave him a look, "They might have heard us coming and are hiding underwater. Give me one of the goggles, I'll investigate."

Alice strapped on one of the goggles and put her head in the water. The water was surprisingly murky; visibility was poor. However, one thing was clear; she could find no amphibians, large or small. She then noticed a large entity swimming towards them. From what she could see of it, it was a fish, and it was big. Alice quickly re-emerged from the water just in time to dodge the monstrous aquatic predator which breached on to land, with the speed of an ambushing alligator.

Adrian and Alice ran further up the shore bank to see what they had encountered. It was a gigantic fish; from head to tail, it must have been the size of a great white shark. It was predominantly grey in colour with several darker stripes running down its back and patches of red on its fins. The fish gave out a bellow of disappointment and rage as its prey escaped. The two explorers stopped to catch their breaths; they thought that they were safe. The large fish gave them a cold look; it would not be cheated of its prey so easily. Using its gigantic front fins to push itself forward, it began to haul itself onto land and continue the hunt.


	13. Life In Transition Part 2

Part 2:

Jack, his hands clamped on the rod and his feet rooted to the spot, reeled in his catch with all his strength, as the fish vigorously pulled on the line. These fish may have been small, but Jack was learning something very important; size means nothing when it comes to fishing. After several minutes of struggling, a small, armoured fish was finally reeled in and placed in a tank with several others of its kind. " Whilst this was happening, Leon was currently observing the fish trying to identify the species, as well as trying to deal with Jack's incessant chatter, "Well, that's the last of them. Y'know for little things, they sure are heavy; whatever they are, they weigh more than a chum box being pulled by a Cameroceras!", the exhausted Jack said, as he collapsed into a chair.

Leon gave him a small glare before he took a deep breath and explained, "These are Bothriolepis. They're placoderms; they belong to the same family as Dunkleosteus. And, to be honest, it's a positive; if we find large amounts of prey, it's almost certain there'll be a predator nearby ."

Jack rolled his eyes and grinned smugly at Leon, "Yes, Leon. I know all about the placoderms; I read the info-packs, actually."

Leon gave him a mocking smirk, "Oh, really. Tell me about the placoderms, then." Jack gave him an arrogant smirk in response, "They were a highly successful group of fish in the Devonian period, characterised by extensive armour plating on their bodies. They were only around for 50 million years before becoming extinct in the end-Devonian extinction. See, I know this stuff too, smartypants", before giving an arrogant smirk in response. Leon gave him a vicious glare, "What's with you, Jack? You prattle and you chat and you talk – God knows, you talk – and it's really getting on my nerves."

Jack facepalmed and said in an exasperated tone, "What's with _you_ , Leon? First you get rammed by an Anomalocaris, then you get dogpiled by Megalograptus, and now, you didn't even get off your lazy arse and help me with the fish! How did you even land this gig in the first place? Me, Yolanda, Kyle – we were all selected; Theodore thought we were the best for the job. Not you… we were just told you were coming along! You're a hanger-on, Leon; a tourist!"

Leon gave Jack a shocked glare, the anger he was feeling visible in the scowl on his face. Jack breathed out and said, "Wait, wait, I'm sorry. I just snapped. We've had a long and rather disappointing day, we're both tired and things just… got out of hand. Maybe we should both turn in." Leon didn't feel like bothering him, so he let Jack leave.

Just as he was leaving, Drew appeared. "What's with Jack, today? He seems way more angry then he usually is. And, you need to lay off too. Tempers have been running short lately; and I need you two to co-operate on this mission.", Leon shrugged in response; he didn't know (or, for that matter, care) the reason for Jack's behaviour change. Drew changed the focus to their catches. "Anyway, I just sent a message to prepare for more fish; how about we send these guys through?"

Leon breathed out, "Might want to hold that thought. It seems Jack also caught a dead one, somehow." As he said this, he reached into the tank and pulled out one that was completely motionless. Drew looked at it grimly before the germs of an idea began to enter his mind. After sending the small placoderms through, he went to the bottom of the ship to see if the radar was picking up anything. Unfortunately, it had failed to pick up anything of substantial size; there were a few small blots on the radar that were probably more Bothriolepis or primitive sharks or… something, but that was about it. He looked to the sun that was beginning to set and sighed; better do this the old fashioned way. He waited for his teammates to fall asleep, before he grabbed some diving equipment and dove into the ocean bellow.

Adrian and Alice were in a bad situation; the large fish, using its massive pectoral fins, was currently getting closer and closer to them. The two stood, paralysed by fear, as the creature continued its remorseless advance. They were surprised when the predator stopped and even more so when it suddenly lunged at them, with a speed belying its massive bulk, missing Adrian's leg by inches. Then it did something surprising; it retreated. It didn't have enough energy to continue chasing them and it was getting too far from the water. The prey had won this round. The massive fish continued to crawl back into the river and then it dived back in, to the murky depths from whence it came. The two explorers looked at each other in silence, collected themselves and went back to their camp. Once they arrived, Alice opened the food packets and began using the camping stove, whilst Adrian was looking through the notes. Alice turned to him and asked, "Any luck discovering what the killer fish was?"

Adrian looked intently at the book as he nosed through it, "Not yet, but I'm sure that it's somewhere in this-AHA found it!" He walked over to where she was and showed her a picture of a large fish that looked exactly like the one that attacked them. Adrian began to read what the page said, "Hyneria; a large predatory fish that was thought to have preyed on any creatures that it could catch. This was a top predator. They were thought to be highly territorial and may have had the ability to move on land for short periods of time, in order to catch their prey." Alice sat, waiting for the food to heat up, and listened very closely. Once Adrian had finished reading, he closed the book, sighed and said, with a resigned tone, "Forget the salamanders, this right here will take us forever!"

Alice looked at him like he'd gone mad and said, "What the hell you talking about?" Adrian turned to her and said, "What I mean is that, with them being so territorial, it could take forever to find a mate for that one."

Alice stared open-mouthed at him, "Why would we need to find it a mate?", to which Adrian looked at her, confused and said "Because, how else can the species continue once we rescue them?"

Alice's eyes widened and she said, basically screaming at him, "Woah woah woah! I am not going near that thing again! What possessed you into thinking that we should save that thing?!" Unbeknownst to either of them, a brief flash of silver could be seen in the water in the distance.

Adrian turned to her and said, "Remember what Drew said during the very first mission? 'No Species Left Behind'. That, out there", he gestured to the water, "is an extinct species that may die out in the near future and you're suggesting we do nothing!" In response to this, Alice stared at him for a few minutes, trying to find something to say. In the end, she gave up, sighed and said, "Fine, but we save the Hynerpeton first!" Adrian breathed out and nodded in agreement, "Seems like a plan", before they went back to their dinner.

Meanwhile, Drew was currently swimming through the reef. It was the perfect way to escape the chaos on the boat; he'd never been one for confrontations and hated to be involved in a fight. This late night dive should be a great way to escape the issue. However, it was still preying on his mind and he began to think. It wasn't just today; tempers had been running short between Jack and Leon for quite a while now. They seemed to be engaged in a little feud, each trying to outdo the other. He could see why Leon felt inadequate; Jack was very smart and he was clearly trying to get in Drew's good books and had been ever since the Silurian mission. Leon saw this as a challenge; he'd always been painfully aware of his inadequacies. Previously. they'd managed to be professional, but since they'd arrived, they'd practically been at each other's throats.

He attempted to take his mind off it by looking at the world around him; the seas seemed to change at night. It was something he'd noticed in the Ordovician; the ocean seemed to transform into an alien world at night, where everything was rendered invisible in the inky gloom. Drew kept his guard up not wanting to be attacked by something by accident. Soon he felt something swim under him. He quickly looked and saw a bizarre looking shark swimming in the direction he was headed. It didn't take long for Drew to identify the shark species.

"Stethacanthus", he said to himself, "That dorsal fin is an immediate giveaway". And he was right the shark had a disproportionately large, anvil-shaped dorsal fin. Aside from that, it was near indistinguishable from a modern shark; sharks hadn't changed much in 350 million years. 'Wonder what got him in such a panic.'

Right when he finished that, the shark suddenly disappeared into the gloom; it had been grabbed by something. Something huge. Drew shined his headtorch at the approximate location of the predator. He gave a small gasp as a gigantic fish swam into the light. It was an imposing looking animal; its front half was covered in thick armour, making its head look substantially bigger than its body. The creature opened its fearsome gape and revealed a vast mouth filled with what looked like massive shearing teeth. Drew knew instantly what it was. He had found a Dunkleosteus; actually, it had found him. The predator remorselessly advanced upon this new prey item.

To be continued


	14. Life In Transition Part 3

Part 3.

Drew was in a state of shock, as the behemoth advanced towards him. What was he going to do? He'd already gave away his position, the shark would have only been enough to tangentially satisfy the behemoth fish's appetite, and it was swimming his way. He breathed out; he only had only one option remaining. He quickly grabbed the communicator and typed a message, warning the park of this monstrous new arrival, before pressing send. He then quickly grabbed the portal remote as the fish continued its remorseless advance and pressed a button that summoned a blue vortex that the giant went through.

At the park, Kyle, Nikolai, Mia, and many other employees were at the portal waiting patiently for what was about to come through; what either of the two teams was going to bring back. The oppressive silence and feel of anticipation was interrupted by the communicator ringing. Kyle picked it up and a message that said. 'Target located. About to send over. Be prepared!' Suddenly, the portal flared open and a gigantic armoured fish began to swim through the portal; it must have been over thirty feet in length.

"Open the gates, quickly!" Kyle ordered. A holding tank was opened and a piece of meat was dropped in. The fish noticed the meat, swerved into the holding tank and, with a speed that belied its massive bulk, grabbed it and swallowed it whole. Kyle, Nikolai and Mia looked over at the giant in shock. It was an imposing looking animal; its entire front half was covered in thick armour, making its head look substantially bigger than its body. Its head was the most distinctive part of its body; its fearsome gape and revealed a vast mouth filled with what looked like massive shearing teeth. This, combined with its orangey-red armour, made its head bear a slight resemblance to an oversized jack-o-lantern.

"Wow, if only Yolanda was here to see this." Mia said.

"After that concussion she suffered, we decided that her health was more important. Besides, she'll have all the time in the world to see it after we've transferred it to the current accommodations." Nikolai responded. Mia nodded in agreement; whilst Yolanda had insisted that she was perfectly fine, it was decided that she spend some more time recovering. Suddenly, they both heard Kyle give a frustrated groan.

"Oh God! Apparently we have to figure out this thing's gender! So, come on, who's dumb enough to dive in and check to see what it carries?!". At that moment, pretty much everyone who'd been at the portal site bolted out of the room, leaving Kyle alone with Nikolai and Mia. "I hate to add more bad news." Mia said. "But most fish have internal reproductive organs, so finding out the gender of Jaws here might become a bit tricky." Kyle breathed out; he knew what Mia was talking about. The ease of telling the genders of fish varied according to species; it was easy to tell on some, subtler on others. Now he had to put some thought into a plan that didn't end in someone dying horrifically.

Back in the Devonian seas, Drew was swimming back to the _Mariner_. He was almost out of air and he needed to be back before Jack and Leon noticed. After a few minutes, he managed to make it back in time for him to get enough sleep for the night. Though, he wryly noted, he would have a bit of trouble doing that since his heart was still pounding in his chest.

Meanwhile, Adrian and Alice were currently sitting around a campfire eating the tinned soup that Alice had managed to heat up on the camping stove. They were currently conversing with each other, "-And then just when he thought that he'd gotten on the wolf's good side, it peed on his shoe!", Alice burst out laughing, as Adrian told his story. "Let's say that he was not happy. And he maintains it was coincidental, but I swear to this day that's why he's a cat person."

She whipped the tears from her eyes. "Wow, you, Leon and Drew have known each other for a long time." Adrian smiled and said, "Oh yeah, we've known each other since we were in middle school. What about you, any old friends on staff?" She gave a shrug in response, "A couple, a couple; someone I was at school with and a couple of people I met at Novum. However, I was never the social type." In response to this, Adrian shrugged. "Eh, some people like being alone. Everybody's different."

Alice shook her head. "No, it's not that I didn't want friends; it's just that I was never good at making them. Jack made friends easier than I did; God, he attracted them like a dog attracts fleas. He always has done and always will; my dad always used to tell people that he had his own gravitational pull."

Adrian listened closely, taking in every word she said; he'd never heard anything about Jack and Alice's childhoods. He'd known them for several months, but, until now, their pasts were a mystery. "Wow. You've never told anyone that before. Speaking of Jack, what was with him today? He was a bit more… erratic than he normally is."

Alice sighed, "What's with him? Only the same as ever; low self-esteem, crippling status anxiety and the realisation that there's only so much you can do to plaster a smile on a broken soul. You try living, knowing your brother is wrangling dinosaurs; that's why I took this job in the first place. I needed to keep an eye on him." She paused to look at Adrian. "That's the problem with places like this; truth pours out."

Adrian raised a hand to quiet her down. "It's fine, sometimes the best way to handle things is to let it all out. And, to be honest, I wasn't expecting such a happy-go-lucky guy to have hang-ups like this."

Alice smiled at him. "Thanks for listening. And there's more to people than they show to the outside world; they show people what they want to see. If you want to get the measure of a person, don't look at what they show on the surface... look at what they try to hide." She looked around, "Amazing, isn't it?"

Adrian raised his eyebrow, "What?"

"Just how all this happened. Jack told me about what the land in the Silurian period was like; it was just a barren expanse of rock; it was more like Mars than Earth. And now, in just 50 million years, there are massive forests, breathable air and the first land vertebrates! It's weird and unusual and… beautiful. Just beautiful."

Adrian raised his eyebrow in response and smiled, "Well, that's what we've learnt from the history of the world; life finds a way. It gets past all obstacles, it goes to new environments, makes new leaps; painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life always finds a way."

Alice smiled at him, "Nice insight. Anyway, come on, let's get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow. We've got amphibians to find."

Back at the yacht, Drew's team were currently still searching for a Dunkleosteus, with Drew constantly checking his communicator to see if the park staff had determined the gender of the one he had rescued last night. He didn't mention it to Jack or Leon; he didn't want to accidentally start a fight again or, worse, get chewed out by them both for going alone. He rolled his eyes at the thought; it's not like he wasn't used to being alone. In fact, he preferred solitude to most other things. He liked it when he could just have time alone to think, or watch a movie, or play a video game. Of course, it wasn't like he didn't enjoy the company of his friends. He, Adrian and Leon went back a long time; they 'd first met in 8th grade biology, over 10 years ago. He smiled as he remembered those old days; they'd changed over that period, change was, after all, the natural cause of life, but they were still very close friends and they trusted each other a lot. One of the crew had confirmed to him that tensions between Jack and Leon were still running high; it seemed like they were finding the tiniest things to argue about.

This moment of introspection was interrupted when Drew suddenly heard a beeping noise; it was the radar. It had picked something up. He went down to the radar to see if they had found one of his two targets. He looked and saw many small shapes moving under the boat. Smiling, he grabbed a periscope to see if they'd come upon more Stethacanthus. He placed the scope in the water, held his breath, and looked through. Sure enough, he could see a small group of Stethacanthus swimming around each other. Why they were gathering was unclear; possibly for the mating season or some sort of annual hunt. Drew knew he had to act quickly if he was going to save them. He couldn't aim the portal from above the water so he would have to go in; luckily, they'd packed a shark cage for this procedure. He walked out, to get ready to dive in shark-infested waters.


	15. Life In Transition Part 4

Alice woke up from her sleep and gave out a yawn. She'd slept surprisingly well; the night had been rather quiet, aside from the occasional movement outside the tent. She suddenly got the bizarre feeling that something was in there with her; that there was something in there. It was probably just a large millipede or something; those existed at that time. She rubbed her eyes before her vision cleared, and a large salamander-like creature was standing right in front of her, staring at her like a curious dog. Shocked, she gave out a small scream and backed away from the creature. However, the amphibian was paying little attention to her, instead choosing to snuffle around the tent in search of food. She calmed down; evidently the creature wasn't going to attack her. In fact, it appeared more bemused by her presence. She briefly smiled; it was kind of cute, actually.

Meanwhile, Adrian's slumber was rudely awoken by both Alice's scream and several loud, throaty bellows from outside. He looked around the camp urgently to see what had startled his teammate. He was worried that the Hyneria had decided to attempt another attack; he had no idea how far it could go on land, but the first one had pursued them a considerable distance. However, he didn't see a giant predatory fish tearing through the tent. Instead, he saw over thirty giant amphibians, dotting the land around the tent. Several of them were now inside the tent; they seemed to be attracted to the leftovers from last night's dinner, which was on a table out of their reach. Adrian quickly grabbed the notebook and tried to identify the intruders. They looked like salamanders, only much larger; the largest of them was about five feet long. The only amphibians that big today were the Asian giant salamanders, which he had heard from Jack (who'd worked with them on a previous Novum project) grew up to six feet in length. For such large creatures, they were surprisingly brightly coloured; their bodies were adorned in bright patterns of yellow and black. They looked, for all in the world, like a Halloween decoration. Adrian quickly flipped through the notes and found the mystery animal. He turned to the correct page and whooped in delight, attracting the attention of two of the amphibians, "Here it is; Hynerpeton!". He than checked on Alice, who was staring at the giant amphibian that had so rudely awoken her, "You alright?" She chuckled, "Yeah, I'm fine. He just gave me kind of a rude awakening. It's OK though, I don't think they're predatory; otherwise we'd be dead by now." Adrian smiled and said, "Your unexpected visitor didn't kiss you on the lips, did it?"

Alice chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking that it wanted me to star in the Devonian remake of _The Princess and The Frog_?" Adrian gave her a brief stare, "I'm being serious, actually. These guys are brightly coloured; which means they could be poisonous. I'm thinking we grab some rubber gloves and move these guys into the portal."

After they put on their protective gloves (it never hurt to be prepared), they began to shepherd the Hynerpeton into the portal, using the leftovers as bait. It was a surprisingly easy task; the creatures were all eager to follow the singular lure. They could now notice that there were two distinct size differences amongst the throng; some Hynerpeton were slightly larger and more brightly coloured than others in the throng.

However, interactions between the creatures were not harmonious; individuals would occasionally snap at either each other or Adrian and Alice. Soon, all the Hynerpeton at the camp were through the portal and they could focus on their next target. Hyneria.

On the Ancient Mariner. Drew and Co. were currently preparing the shark cage to rescue the Stethacanthus. As the cage was slowly lowered into the water, Leon was talking to Drew over the communicator, "Drew, buddy? These guys were thought to be highly territorial so make sure you take this chance; we might only happen once. Of course I know you'll listen; we take missions more seriously than Captain Fisherman over here!" Jack turned to him with a glare. "Oh, I'm sorry, _Leon_. I didn't realize that you somehow envied the ability to have useful talents other than being a walking talking textbook on animals!"

Drew saw where this was going and quickly dove in, taking the dead Bothriolepis with him. As he swam slowly into the cage, he noted feelings of trepidation. The only time he'd been nervous diving was actually going into the water; afterwards, he'd been as relaxed as he'd ever been. He entered the cage and waited. After about two minutes, the sharks began to notice the dead placoderm and began to approach the cage, moving as if a single entity. Drew waited as the advancing shoal swam closer and closer, until they close enough to the cage for Drew to open the portal and throw the dead Bothriolepis through it. The sharks all followed the bait, like dogs after a tennis ball, and disappeared through the portal into the present.

Adrian and Alice were currently in a canoe paddling through the lake in search for a Hyneria. Adrian was scouting out the lake, whilst Alice checked on the current status at the park. "OK, they just received the Hynerpeton. Apparently, Drew, Jack and Leon also brought back some small sharks; the ones with the anvil-shaped fins, apparently.", she confirmed.

Adrian muttered "At least that means Drew is keeping himself together", before turning to her and saying, "Stethacanthus? I saw a couple of them in the water today. I guess that means they can live in both salt and freshwater." Just as he said that, the shadow of a shark appeared under the boat. Adrian wasn't worried. Despite its unusual and fearsome appearance, Stethacanthus wasn't all that big; it'd pose little danger to them. Here, there were bigger fish in the water; ones that made even great white sharks look like small fry. "That's not all." Alice said. "Drew apparently managed to save a male Dunkleosteus. Apparently ,it took them forever to find out the damn thing's gender. I wonder how they did it".

The two kept looking, eventually capturing a particularly persistent Stethacanthus, so they could find the Hyneria easier; it, and other Stethacanthus, had been responsible for a number of false alarms. Their search was ended when they saw a shallow part of the lake, near the shoreline, covered in blood. Their suspicions as to what it could attract were confirmed when they saw an enormous fin, like a great white shark, swimming towards the shore. Thinking the same thing, they turned the canoe towards the direction the fin was heading and followed it; here went nothing.

On the _Ancient Mariner_ , Leon and Jack were currently watching the radar. Their job was to alert Drew if anything big came around. Right now, however, they were watching the Stethacanthus swam through the portal. "Another success! It looks like our fearless leader has saved another species. Maybe you should take some lessons." Jack declared, as the last shark disappeared through the portal, "If you were down there now, they'd be dogpiling you. At least when you're up here, me and Drew don't have to get you out of trouble."

Leon gave Jack a venomous glare and rebutted, the anger barely hidden in his voice, "Oh yeah? Remind me; who was it that saved Yolanda from the Brontoscorpio that time?Uh, yeah me!" Jack chuckled, "Funny, I don't remember you being called Hepetet. Then again… I'm sure Yolanda would totally fall for her if she swung that way. I said it before, Leon and I'll say it again; you're a hanger-on", he finished with an arrogant smirk. Leon, enraged, shouted "YOU ARE SUCH A-". However, their argument had blinded them to a rather large blip appearing on the radar and swimming directly towards Drew.

Drew, meanwhile, was currently about to call the crew to lift him back up. However, his joy was short-lived as an enormous creature emerged from the gloom and rammed the shark cage. It didn't take Drew long to recognize the attacker. It seems that whilst he wasn't very good at finding Dunkleosteus, Dunkleosteus were very, very good at finding him.


	16. Life In Transition Part 5

Final part

Drew didn't waste time in grabbing his communicator. He yelled in it, "Leon, Jack, pull me up now!" However, the call fell on deaf ears; his only response was static. He didn't have time to reflect on this as the Dunkleosteus returned and rammed the cage again, sending him flying against the wall. As the creature emerged fully, Drew got his first good look at it. This was noticeably larger than the one he rescued last night, so this one had to be a female; females in many fish were bigger than males. He was about to reach for the remote when the giant fish rammed the cage again, causing him to nearly drop the remote through the bars. Thankfully the Dunkleosteus didn't notice the commotion. Unfortunately, Drew realised that one of his arms had been jammed into the bars and that he was, for all intents and purposes, trapped; in his current position, he couldn't reach the remote. He knew he shouldn't panic underwater; it caused you to lose air quicker. However, whoever said that had probably never been trapped in a cage with a giant fish trying to eat them.

As Adrian and Alice got closer to the giant fins, they noticed that their suspicions had been correct; the blood had drawn Hyneria to the location. Two gigantic fins cut the water, circling each other, following something moving in the water. Now Adrian and Alice realised what had drawn the fish to the areal; an injured Hynerpeton that the two predators had been fighting over. The large amphibian tried to swim to shore, but it was slowed down by its injured leg. A Hyneria lunged for the injured amphibian's tail, missing it by inches due to its competitor ramming it with its head, knocking it off balance. The Hynerpeton used this opportunity to swim up to the surface, and gave a loud, agonised bellow, hoping something would save it. However, it probably wasn't expecting two humans in a canoe to save it.

Watching the nightmarish scene open-mouthed, Alice yelled at Adrian, "Well don't just stand there! Help it!". Adrian didn't hesitate in reaching out at the struggling animal with his oar. The hynerpeton grabbed onto the oar and Adrian quickly pulled it in, before slowly placing the injured animal on the raft. As soon as the Hynerpeton was on the raft, Alice immediately began to bandage its leg to the best of her knowledge. She wasn't a vet and her attempts were amateur; she'd have to get one of the vets to look at it when they brought it back.

However, this didn't go unnoticed as one of the Hyneria charged at the raft. It raised its massive head above the water, as it tried to haul itself onto the boat, causing it to rock roughly back and forth. The Hynerpeton began rolling onto one side, but managed to avoid falling off due to his size, while Alice and Adrian had to constantly help each other to stay on board; falling in the water would be a death sentence. Soon the other Hyneria got involved, causing the raft to shake even more. Eventually, one Hyneria hit the raft so hard it tipped over, sending Adrian, Alice and the injured Hynerpeton on to one side of the boat. As a gigantic fin cut closer to the boat, Alice yelled, "We need to get rid of them somehow!".

"I know! I know! I'm thinking!" Adrian replied. Grabbing the remote in one hand, he signalled Alice to grab some bait. She grabbed a chunk of meat and dangled it over the water, hoping that the Hyneria would eat it. Soon, two gigantic fins appeared in the water and began advancing towards the food, like gigantic sharks. An eternity seemed to pass as the fish got closer and closer to the raft. The Hynerpeton hid under a seat as its hunters continued to advance. Soon, with a speed that belied their massive bulk, the two giant fish leapt out of the water at the same time to grab the bait. However, Adrian was faster, managing to quickly turn on the portal, sending both the titans through.

After all three creatures' heart rates slowed down back their original paces, they headed back to the park. Adrian and Alice were beaming at each other; the mission had been a success and there would be no more excitement for the next week or so until the next mission. However, they were soon to be proven very, very wrong. Right as they returned to the park, they were meet by shouts from their peers. But they were not shouts of joy, but rather ones of fear. Placing the Hynerpeton in a tank, they ran into the portal control room, listening to the "What happened?"

Mia turned to Alice and practically screamed, "Drew's in trouble! He isn't responding to our communications; no-one from the Mariner is!". The calmer Nikolai took over the conversation, "The last communication we got from him was that he had encountered another Dunkleosteus. We don't know what happened next; the Mariner isn't responding for some reason." Adrian looked at the portal and said, under his breath, "What's happened to you, buddy?"

Meanwhile, on the Mariner, Leon walked towards Jack, eyes narrowed in anger, and raised his fist, aiming for Jack's face. Suddenly, Jack's eyes widened, "Erm, Leon… Look at the camera." They both turned to look at the port camera to see Drew, still in the shark cage, being battered by the Dunkleosteus, Leon muttered "Oh God". Stupefied by the shocking image, their rivalry forgotten, Jack said in shock "Someone's got to help him!". At this, they both paused and looked at each other, before Leon ran outside to where the shark cage was being held. He tried to raise it, but it was too heavy for him. Jack, watching this, rolled his eyes, walked over and grabbed the lever. Together, they were able to slowly raise the cage. The movement of the shark cage to the surface got the predator's attention as it tried to break into the cage with its strong, bone like teeth. However, just like a dog and a beach ball, it couldn't get a good enough grip on the cage; its bites were ineffectual. It retreated and then tried another plan; to follow the cage up to the surface and ambush it to swim up. However, Drew, after a period of struggling, had managed to free his arm. He whipped out the remote, pressed the "on" button and activated the portal, sending the fish to the present.

Jack put his hand on his chest to slow his heart down after the Dunkleosteus disappeared. After some more struggling, they finally were able to raise the cage above the water and Drew was able to exit the cage. As he exited, their eyes both widened; one of them would have to explain why they didn't respond. Drew looked at them, "Why did you two take so long?". Jack and Leon looked at each other and then at him, before Jack said "T-there was an accident; the radio wasn't working… Yeah, that's it", and he and Leon scurried off in different directions.

The tense atmosphere at the portal site had ended and a modicum of calm had descended; they'd gotten a message from the Mariner. Apparently, the communications blackout was due to Drew being trapped in the shark cage, meaning that the Mariner couldn't communicate with the park. However, the problem had been solved and the Mariner would emerge from the portal momentarily. As the Mariner emerged and was anchored in the park docks, Adrian and Alice were surprised to see a terrified Jack and Leon run down the stairs, briefly stopping to greet their comrades. Alice gave her brother a confused look, "What happened to you?" Jack darted his eyes around awkwardly and quickly said "Stuff", as Drew descended from the boat.

Adrian turned to Drew and asked "Why are they so jumpy?" Drew's expression turned stern and angry "If I were in their position, I would be. I'll tell you the full story, but first, I have some idiots to talk to…" He briefly gestured at the terrified Jack and Leon to enter his office; they diffidently obliged. Alice briefly went to ask, but Adrian stopped her, "Trust me, you don't won't to be close to Drew while he's pissed." Alice's eyes widened, but she nodded in understanding. A few minutes later, they could hear the fireworks. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING!". Everyone within hearing range stepped back as Drew unleashed his anger. The targets of his rage, the terrified Jack and Leon, briefly pointed at each other and opened their mouths to speak, but Drew shut them up, "I DONT GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT YOUR DAMN EXCUSES! I WAS NEARLY KILLED BECAUSE OF YOUR MORONIC BEHAVIOUR! I BROUGHT YOU ON THIS MISSION CAUSE I THOUGHT THAT YOU COULD PUT TOGETHER YOUR PETTY GREVIANCES AND BE PROFESSIONAL! BUT CLEARLY, I WAS WRONG!" As soon as it had begun, it was over. Drew took a loud deep breath and exited his office, but not with out sending his two teammates a dirty look. Alice and Adrian sighed, before they began to help transport the animals to their enclosures.

In a few days, both the animals and Drew had calmed down. The Bothriolepis were placed in a large open ocean tank similar that of the Cephalaspis only more like an open ocean, whilst the Stethacanthus had a large shark tunnel dedicated to them, with freshwater and saltwater sections.

The Hynerpeton and Hyneria were placed in a specially-constructed Devonian section of the aquarium. The Hynerpeton had a small island and a pound for their enclosure and the males had already begun displaying. The vets had treated the male saved from the Hyneria and Alice had affectionately dubbed him Howler, since he was the loudest of them all. The Hyneria currently had a large freshwater lake, simulated to look similar to their original home. They had been separated for the time being; Alice and Adrian had informed Kyle how aggressive they were. And, in Hell's Oceans, the two Dunkleosteus had a gigantic exhibit to themselves, complete with reefs to make it feel like the Devonian sea. They were currently separated, since, according to Khatin, there was evidence that Dunkleosteus were cannibalistic.

At his office, Drew was currently watching some old sitcom when he heard a knocking at his door. He paused the episode he was watching and said, without looking away, "The door's unlocked, come in". To his surprise and somewhat delight, Alice and Adrian entered the room. The two approached him somewhat nervously, before Adrian had the courage to speak, "Hey dude, are you feeling any better?" Drew smiled at him, "I'm fine. I should be OK for the next mission." Alice's eyes widened and she quietly asked, "Have you guys decided on a punishment for them yet?", a little worried for her brother's sake. "Me, Kyle and Nikolai have all agreed on a fitting punishment for their behaviour; it's a team-building exercise they won't forget. While they're busy, I'm going to need your help bug hunting."

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth**

 **(A giant dragonfly flies overhead)**

 **The team head to the Carboniferous**

 **(Shot of a swampy landscape)**

 **To save the largest bugs of all time**

 **(Nikolai surrounded by a giant spider, scorpion and millipede)**

 **While Jack and Leon have to play Cupid to some not so friendly fish.**

 **(Split screen of Jack and Leon looking into a tank, as two Hyneria circle each other)**

 **All next time of Prehistoric Earth: Alien Empire!**

Animals rescued:

Bothriolepis: 8 (4 males 4 females)

Stethcanthus: 16 ( 13 males 3 females)

Hynerpeton: 31 (21 males 10 females)

Hyneria: 2 (1 male 1 female)

Dunkleosteus: 2 (1 male 1 female)


	17. Alien Empire Part 1

Chapter 5: Alien Empire

Kansas, 300 MYA

It was sunrise. As the dawning light pierced through the large trees in the lush swamp, a nest full of eggs sat in the crevice of a tree trunk, just mere seconds away from hatching. Suddenly the shell of one egg began to crack, followed by others. Within thirty seconds, the entire clutch had begun to hatch, as the eggshells broke apart and small green heads popped out, the hatchlings cheeping nervously as they scanned their new world. However, unbeknownst to them, their new, young lives would soon be cut immensely short. Unnoticed to all, a predator began remorselessly creeping up the tree trunk to the nest and towards the hatchlings, attracted by the prospect of an easy meal. After a while, the predator reached the top and loomed over the unfortunate hatchlings, blocking the sunlight as it did so. The hatchlings had barely any time to react as the predator chittered in glee, raised its head triumphantly and brought its fangs down like a guillotine upon them, ending their brief lives.

(Intro Theme)

Prehistoric Earth

The present day

Under normal circumstances, housing rare insects wouldn't cause that much of a fuss, but when you add a little prehistory to the mix, things tend to change significantly. To this end, Jack and Leon were both overseeing the construction of a giant dome-shaped building. This building would be the park's Carboniferous house where the creatures from today's mission would beheld. A mission they wouldn't be a part of. They had a far worse fate; a fate they were trying to avoid. Leon, practically begging Kyle for amnesty, said "Come on Kyle, give us a chance. I swear we won't argue again", as Jack nodded in affirmative. Kyle simply smirked at them in response. "You're right with that." he started, as Jack and Leon's faces perked up; maybe they could avoid their assignment, after all. Such hopes were immediately crushed when he added, "After your punishment". In response to this, their faces immediately fell; they all knew what this was going to be. Kyle, seeing their shocked expressions, briefly smirked and tossed the two a notebook, "Mia put some notes on the breeding habits of fish for you two in there and I'll have some keepers nearby in case things start going to shit. Otherwise, you're both on your own; we want to see if you two can co-operate on something without either something being destroyed or you two killing each other. Now, leave me alone and let me get back to work." Jack and Leon lowered their heads and began heading like criminals heading off to execution to Hell's Oceans, where the Dunkleosteus (their first port of call) were kept. It would be a long day.

Meanwhile, Drew was currently mapping out his next mission, when Alice and Adrian walked into his office. Drew looked up at them and smiled. "Perfect, you're both here. Today, the three of us will head back 300 million years ago to the Carboniferous period. This mission is to be divided into two parts; the first half will take place in Kansas and the second half will be in Scotland. Any questions before we begin?" "Yeah." Alice asked. giving him a curious stare "When you told us about the next mission, what did you mean by 'bug hunting'?" In response, Drew turned and gave her a knowing grin, "Because the Carboniferous is when bugs ruled the planet. Thanks to the oxygen-rich atmosphere, the arthropods were able to grow much larger than what we see today." He paused, before looking them both in the eye. "Now do any of you have any phobias of bugs, spiders, that sort of thing…" After both shook their heads he continued. "Good, cause I'm counting on you both to do better than those two idiots." Alice and Adrian both knew which idiots he was referring to; he hadn't forgotten Jack and Leon's little stunt. Drew got up and grabbed his supplies before walking out.

Adrian turned to Alice, "Drew is kind of a person who holds grudges; well, he holds grudges depending on whatever the situation is." Alice nodded in understanding and they both went to grab their supplies for this mission. Soon, all three were at the portal site and, with the push of a button, the machine whirred into life and the glowing orb lazily hung in the air. Smiling at each other, the trio went through the portal, into the past. What they saw when they came out was a giant swamp; the smell of rotting plants hung in the air, mist hung low from the trees, like an all-obscuring fog and the buzzing of insects could be heard in the air. The land looked very different from what Alice and Adrian had seen in the Devonian; unlike the Devonian's quiet forests, the Carboniferous swamps were lush, warm and teeming with life.

"OK guys." Drew said, as Alice and Adrian turned their heads towards him, focusing on him in rapt interest, "I have two main targets for this mission; one for each location. Our target here is Petrolacosaurus, it's one of the first reptiles." Drew pulled out a picture of the target and his teammates got a good look at it. From its size, it looked like a rather harmless animal, but they full well knew that the animals that they really should be scared of were the gigantic bugs and amphibians that lived in this swamp alongside it (and probably hunted it).

At the park, Yolanda was currently in the underwater viewing section of the Dunkleosteus tank, watching the titanic fish swim around. She wasn't worried; she knew she wasn't in any danger, since the glass was incredibly thick. The glass had to be very heavily reinforced, in order to withstand ramming attacks (the most common method of attacking their prey) from the gigantic fish. However, this was no reassurance to Jack and Leon; they had to stand on the feeding platform above the tank, where the glass could not protect them from any attack. In order to see who was going to go first "into the jaws of death", as Jack had put it, they had resorted to the classic method for deciding whose duty it is to take up an unwelcome task; a game of "rock, paper, scissors".

"Uh, best out of… 71?", Leon proposed, in response to which Jack nodded eagerly. The crew watching groaned; they knew that Jack and Leon were simply stalling. They wanted to put off what had to be done for as long as possible; either due to their own personal fear or a lack of interest in working with each other. The keeper who was in charge of keeping the tanks divided, rolled his eyes and decided enough was enough. To get their two supervisors to actually co-operate, he lifted the divider, opening the gate between the tanks and allowing the fish to interact with each other. Jack and Leon, witnessing this scene with widened eyes, looked at each other in terror as they saw the giant fish swimming towards each other. After a moment, Leon breathed out, "Why does this always happen to us?", as Jack shrugged in reply. The two didn't waste any time in grabbing the meat in the basket and tossing it into the tank, hoping to keep the two fish from attacking each other and to avoid being chewed out by Drew again.

Meanwhile in the Carboniferous swamps, Drew, Alice and Adrian had decided that the best place to look for their target would near a watering hole; in a swamp, they were spoiled for choice. However, they couldn't just pick any place to start looking; they needed a place that a small animal could drink and not worry about getting caught by predators or trapped in mud. After a while of searching, Alice had managed to find a spot that was promising enough. However, there was a problem; the watering hole had some not-so-friendly visitors. A large amount of giant striped amphibians surrounded the lake. They were approximately ten feet long and looked like a cross between an alligator and a salamander. And, unfortunately, they weren't the friendly-looking type, shoving and snapping at each other frequently. Looking at the amphibians, Adrian said, "Hey, Hugo told me about these. These are Proterogyrinus, right?", turning to Drew for confirmation.

Drew nodded, "Yes, these guys are the top predators. As a result, they have to be rescued". In response to this, Adrian and Alice began to get the supplies ready to bring them back, before Drew stopped them. "Sadly, we aren't prepared for amphibians, so I'll have to send a message first before we can save them." In response to this, Alice and Adrian rolled their eyes and almost did a double-take. Drew chuckled at this and leaned against the nearest tree to send the message. However, soon after he did, something suddenly fell on top of him. Startled, Drew quickly shook his head, causing the object to fall off, and giving the team a chance to look at the creature that had fallen on him.

At first glance, it looked like a giant tarantula, however it was much, much bigger; about the size of Drew's head. Its body was entirely black, except for its two, easily noticeable, fangs, which were coloured a startling crimson. As the spider adjusted to its current situation, its eight small eyes scanning the area, the team backed away to give it space. "Uh, Drew", Adrian asked nervously, as the spider hissed at the indignity it was currently being subjected to, "Any idea what this is?" Drew shrugged and shook his head, "No, neither my notes nor the ones Theodore and Leon gave me said anything about a giant spider."


	18. Alien Empire Part 2

Part 2

The team was in a small state of shock as they looked at the gigantic spider struggling to right itself. They realised the true significance of what they had encountered; this was a creature that had escaped the fossil record, a creature totally unknown to science until now. They had encountered a completely new species, almost entirely by accident. After a while, the spider managed to right itself and hissed at them, as if holding them responsible for the indignity it had just been subject to. The spider regarded the new creatures with a supercilious lack of interest and it began to turn around to head back into the swamp. Drew and the team moved stealthily towards the spider, in order to bring this new creature back. Suddenly, they paused as the whoosh of some large flying creature zipped right across them; moving so fast it was practically invisible. The distractions caused by the new creature's arrival gave the spider the opening it needed to disappear into the swamp. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it had gone.

The adventurers tried to get a look at what just flew past them, but it was so fast they couldn't get a good enough view of it; it was little more than a vaguely insect-shaped blur. They only needed to wait a few seconds until another zipped past them, and another, and another. After a while, the team could get a good look at the mysterious aerial giants, as they buzzed around each other, and they were pleasantly surprised. They were beautiful looking creatures, resembling gigantic green dragonflies; however, they were much bigger, the size of hawks. Adrian couldn't help but stare, open-mouthed, at this beautiful spectacle, "I-I think I remember hearing about these. These are Meganeura, right?" Drew nodded in confirmation and said, "Yeah, they were on the target list. However, capturing these guys will be tricky. We'll have to see if any of our supplies can help us hold them down long enough." With this setback, they decided the best course of action would be to find either the spider or some Petrolacosaurus. They all knew that this would be a lot easier said than done, as they hiked through the swamp, following the spider's path.

Their search took entered a clearing, which appeared to be empty of creatures; the only thing in the clearing was what appeared to be a large brown log, buried under leaf litter. Alice moved towards it, to see if the spider had crawled under it. However, appearances proved to be deceptive, as the "log" suddenly reared up and began to move! The "log" was actually a gigantic millipede some ten feet long. When it reared up on its hind legs, it was tall enough to look Adrian in the eye. The team looked at the giant with a bit of shock. "Arthropleura", Drew said with a small grin, "These were on the target list, too; they were actually my main target for Scotland. However, since we've already found one, we might was well save it." As the large creature began to crawl away, Adrian and Drew jumped on top of it, in order to slow it down, being careful not enough to injure it. The centipede bucked and shook like a bull in a rodeo ring, trying to get free. Alice took the opportunity and set up the portal in the direction the creature would be headed. The instant that was done, Drew and Adrian jumped off the giant arthropod as it went through the portal into the park's newly constructed bug house.

Due to the Carboniferous creatures requiring a special atmosphere, temporary quarantine areas had been placed in the bug house while the main enclosures were being constructed. Kyle looked upon the Arthropleura, which was currently rearing up, like a striking cobra and lunging at the glass of the quarantine area. Thankfully, the Arthropleura's enclosure would soon be ready; it would just have to be patient until then.

Back at the Carboniferous, the team managed to find one of the creatures they were looking for; however, they're about to get a big surprise. As they wandered into a forest clearing, they saw a group of small green lizard-like creatures feeding on the carcass of an Arthropleura. Alice stared at the little creatures and, quietly, asked Drew, "I'm assuming those are Petrolacosaurus, right?" Drew nodded, "Yes. It seems like a pretty good amount at that; they must have been drawn here by the dead Arthropleura." Drew crept up to the little reptiles as silently as possible; given the fact that they were probably a very important prey item in the diets of the giant arthropods and amphibians in the area and had little in the way of natural defences, they would probably have panicky demeanours and lightning fast reflexes. The smallest sound would be enough to induce these lizards into scattering back into the forests. Strangely, however, the little lizards didn't seem to register him; they were too engrossed in feeding on the carcass to even notice the large creature coming towards them. Suddenly, a dark shape moved out of the bushes, at lightning speed, jumped onto one of the Petrolacosaurus and began to attack it. This surprise attack caused the others to begin to flee back into the bushes. Drew, not missing the opportunity, set up the portal directly in the trajectory of the fleeing animals, sending them through the portal and into the present day. In all the carnage, Drew, Adrian and Alice got a good look at the predator, which was continuing to attack the struggling lizard. It was a giant spider, possibly the same one they had encountered before, which loomed over the lizard and chittered in glee as it sank its large fangs into its struggling prey. After a few seconds, the lizard's struggles reduced in intensity and its breathing became shallower until it had stopped moving; the spider had killed it. Drew, Alice and Adrian stared in surprise; they'd encountered the spider again, almost by coincidence. And it wasn't alone. They looked ahead to find the area directly in front of them pockmarked with spider burrows.

The spider gave them a hiss and, impaling her fangs into her prey's motionless carcass, began to drag her prey back into her burrow, whilst the strange new creatures were distracted. However, once she had reached her burrow, she noticed that something was terribly wrong; her burrow, normally covered with the webs that she used to pick up the vibrations made by nearby prey, was flooded; the waters of the river must have risen whilst she was hunting. If she could have felt human emotion, she would have felt something like… disappointment. Her kind were not burrowers, instead living in vacated holes in the forest floor; this meant that competition for the best sites was intense. She would have to roam far and wide in search of a new burrow, putting her at risk of attack.

Drew, Adrian and Alice watched the spider stop at the entrance of its waterlogged home, dropping the dead Petrolacosaurus. As they looked around, they realised it wasn't alone; the majority of burrows in the area were flooded, forcing the spiders out onto the surface. As if to make matters worse, the low rumbling of thunder indicated that a great storm was on the way. As they looked up, Drew had a grim look on his face. The very oxygen-high atmosphere that had allowed the arthropods to grow to gigantic sizes, had a great cost; it was highly volatile, more so than today. A single lightning strike could turn the forest for miles around into a blistering inferno. They would have to work fast.

To be continued


	19. Alien Empire Part 3

Part 3

Thunder rumbled through the swamp like the roar of an enraged demon as clouds loomed over the swamp like harbingers of destruction. Drew, Alice and Adrian were, almost instantaneously, surrounded by panicked animals. It was as if every living thing for miles around was on edge and fleeing from the danger; a swarm of Meganeura descended from the canopy to the lower, wetter parts of the swamp, where they could escape a possible forest fire. The giant spiders, not having the advantage of flight, were beginning to circle each other in fear; some of them were paralysed in terror. Drew knew they had to act quickly; he grabbed the portal and switched it at the nearest spider burrow. The spiders nearest to the glowing orb, transfixed, began to scurry towards it. After a couple of minutes, all of the giant spiders in the immediate vicinity had entered the portal, into the present.

Drew turned his gaze to the lake; now came the hard part. However, it seemed that he'd gotten lucky; the dragonflies had chosen to shelter by the watering hole that the giant amphibians were lurking. Drew and his team walked towards the lake.

The Proterogyrinus were far more animated than before, leaping from the water attempting to catch the unexpected bounty above them. However, the Meganeura were ready for them; quite often, a giant dragonfly narrowly missed an amphibian's snapping jaws due to quick reflexes. The team looked at each other; they knew they had to act fast. Drew switched on the portal and the dragonflies, almost hypnotised by the glowing orb, began to swarm towards it, moving as if they were a single entity. The amphibians let out surprised bellows and began to advance towards it; they would not be cheated of their prey so easily. When the last of the giants had gone through, Drew, Alice and Adrian realised the storm had moved forward to the point where it was right above them. Drew quickly leapt through the portal, with Alice and Adrian following. Drew pressed the button and shut off the portal just as a lightning bolt hit the ground.

At the park, things had gradually calmed down. The keepers were moving the animals around. The Arthropleura's new home had already been constructed and the keepers transported it there. The other animals were kept in the quarantine bays until their new homes were finished. The exceptions were the Meganeura, who were flying all over the building. It was decided that they would leave them alone for the time being and let them exercise a bit before shepherding them into the Carboniferous building. Right now, all the focus was on the unexpected giant spider.

Drew looked at the spiders through the glass window of the holding pen they had been kept in. Confusedly scuttling around their new environment, the spiders

The research division had confirmed it; these spiders were a totally new species, unseen in the fossil record before. Khatin had been both flabbergasted and pleasantly surprised; this was a whole new type of creature right in front of him. They'd been able to, by observation, narrow the spiders down to the Mesothelae suborder; however, these were a totally new genus. Drew was observing the quarantined animals, who had all been kept separately since spiders were prone to cannibalism, and was observing their behaviour. He was making mental notes of how he had observed them behave in the wild; they'd ambushed their prey and made webs to detect them. After a while, he'd finally decided on a name for them. He grabbed the nearest sticky note and wrote the name on it. He placed it on the glass for the world to see. The note declared the spider's new name; Mesothelus kansasensis.

After this, Drew headed to his quarters to turn in for the night. However, outside the Carboniferous house, he was met by Collete. The haughty security guard looked uncharacteristically entertained; in fact, it was all she could do to keep herself from laughing. She began, uncharacteristically animated, "Uh, boss? About Jack and Leon's team-building exercise… there's good news and bad news. The good news is they succeeded. The bad news is, well, maybe you should see this for yourself..." she trailed off, reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. A video of Jack and Leon, on the feeding platform began to play; it had obviously been sped up. Jack and Leon were standing on the feeding platform, throwing in meat to keep the territorial fish distracted. Shortly after the last piece of meat was thrown in, Jack was turning to look at the meat barrel, which was empty, causing them both to look at each other in terror. Even though the footage was silent, Drew could still see that Jack and Leon were freaking out; this was understandable, given their precarious position on the platform and their proximity to the Dunkleosteus. Suddenly, a Dunkleosteus swam incredibly close to the feeding platform, ramming it and causing them both to slip over. They quickly righted themselves and ran in down the ladder, stopping by the tank wall to catch their breath. The video stopped and the smirking Collete looked at Drew. Drew however had a confused expression, "OK, so what happened after that?" Collete smiled, "They threw in so much meat in the tank, the fish saw that there was enough food to go round and made a truce." Drew had one last thing to ask, "OK, why is it sped up?"

Collete looked at him knowingly and smirked, "We had someone in control do it, 'cause we thought it would be funnier." She, still smiling, walked out. Drew sighed and rolled his eyes. Maybe Jack and Leon weren't the only ones who needed to have their behaviour checked.

The next morning, the bug house was starting to stir into life. The newly named Mesothelus were currently being fed by Drew. The Proterogyrinus had begun to set up territories in their new home. The Arthlopluera was peacefully browsing in its new home. And the Meganura where enjoying their freedom, flying all over the building. The majority of the ground level areas, including the pond, had been covered by metal nets, so that the Meganura wouldn't either eat or be eaten by the other residents . They had their own "exhibit" separated from the others, which would serve as a resting and drinking place for them.

Drew, meanwhile, was currently dangling a dead mouse over one of the spider holes, trying to get the arachnid's attention. He kept constantly touching the webs until finally said spider popped out, grabbed the mouse, impaled it with its fangs and dragged it back into the burrow. Drew observed the spiders for a bit and was able to identify them by the different patterns on their exoskeletons. The one he had just fed, was the one that fell on top of him and introduced him to their species. He was trying to think of a name for the creature; a few names had been batted around, but there was nothing concrete, yet. His introspection was interrupted by Alice and Adrian coming up to him. They had been followed by one of the Petrolacosaurus, who had proven to be much more approachable and friendly than his more nervous kin.

"Um, Drew?" Alice asked. "Are you ready to go?" Drew looked at Alice and nodded. "Yeah, let me just grab my supplies. We might be out there longer, as we have two targets to save." The two targets were a female Arthropleura and some more Meganeura; the vets had found that all the ones so far were females. They reached the portal site, the portal was turned on again and the team headed back to the Carboniferous.

To be continued


	20. Alien Empire Part 4

Part 4

The Scottish swamps were almost identical to the North American ones; the same smell of rotting plants hung in the air and the sounds of large, buzzing insects still echoed in the air. As the team set up camp in one of the few dry places they could find, Drew began to discus his plans for the mission, "Alright guys, we'll split up. Me and Alice will look for a female Arthropleura, while Adrian goes after some Meganeura. I'm assuming I can trust you to capture a decent amount, Adrian?" Adrian, who was polishing a type of water gun (it was used as a capture gun for flying insects), looked up at Drew and smiled. "Mate, I am the best sniper for this job and you know it." He said all this in an exaggeratedly fake Aussie accent.

Alice, perplexed, turned to Drew for an explanation. Drew rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "We used to play TF2 a lot when we were younger; he still does. His favourite class is the Sniper, and, whenever he chose it, he'd start talking Australian as a way to 'get into character'". Alice sniggered, as the two began to head out in search of giant millipedes.

Back at the park, Jack and Leon were getting ready to introduce the Hyneria to each other. This time, they were trying to be more prepared. Key word; _trying_. They entered the aquarium, heads held high. Leon looked at the tank, with an arrogant smirk; he felt like he could take on the world". Jack was scanning through the shark husbandry manual Mia had given them (since, from what Alice and Adrian had reported, it was deemed the best model), when his eyes suddenly widened. Oh my God", he muttered under his breath. Leon turned to him, wearing a smirk, "OK Jack, what does the info say?". Jack turned to him and breathed out, "There's a problem. Do you know how to read French?".

Adrian was currently approaching a large watering hole. That didn't change wherever in the world you went to; watering holes would always attract wildlife. He briefly scouted the area and hid behind a tree. His plan was to catch the dragonflies off guard when they arrived. His prediction was soon proven to be correct as giant dragonflies cascaded down from the nearby trees. Whilst several were green, like the ones back at the park, others were a bright blue in colour. They knew the green ones were female; this meant that the blue ones had to be males. "Alright, buggies", Adrian thought to himself, 'Let's dance.'

At the park, Jack and Leon were leafing through the book, trying to find some form of translation or the French text; neither of them could speak or read the language. Finally, Jack had enough and threw the book to the floor, "Oh God! It's all in French!". Jack and Leon looked at each other in horror. Jack turned to the nearest keeper and ordered, "We need to find someone who can speak French; it's the only way we can understand this and get back in Drew's good books."

Back in the Carboniferous, Adrian had his water gun rifle pointed at a dragonfly as he landed on a log. He looked through the scope and aimed perfectly, pulled the trigger, and yet somehow still missed. He swore, "Curse you physics!", to the trees above, as he reloaded his gun and tried again.

At the park, there was no translator in the area. So Jack and Leon had only one thing left to try; they had to translate it all themselves. They transferred the French text onto Google Translator and Leon pressed the button that said French translator. Soon, the translation came up. Jack and Leon looked at each other in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense", Leon said. "What are we going to do?", Jack said in quiet desparation.

Back in the Carboniferous, Adrian was now hiding behind a tree, on the edge of the water, hoping for an opportunity to sneak up on the lightning-fast dragonflies. He aimed his rifle at the nearest one and began to fire. However, he would never get the opportunity; an enormous amphibian lunged out of the lake's depths and grabbed the dragonfly, with a speed that belied its massive bulk. The creature began to swim back to the depths, with its meal in its jaws, when it was grabbed by Adrian, who looked at it grimly, "Oh no, you don't, you wannabe croc. You and me are going on a little trip.", Adrian grabbed the struggling amphibian and carried him back to shore when he would hope the amphibian would stay. That question was soon answered, of whether or not the amphibian would stay as, when Adrian placed him down, he noticed the amphibian's legs were tiny in comparison to its sinuous body.

At the Devonian section of the aquarium Leon and Jack exited the building with smug looks on their faces. "That was a lot easier than what I was expecting", Leon said. "I agree, let's get brunch", Jack proclaimed, almost arrogantly.

Back in the Carboniferous, Adrian was waiting for more Meganeura, spending the time catching more amphibians, several of which were currently contained. With the amphibians securely contained, he soon began moving back into the pond, hiding behind a tree and aimed his rifle at a another male on the log. He raised his rifle, and pulled the trigger. Amazingly, he managed to get a hit. He rushed in to grab his prize, suddenly causing panic amongst the giant insects. Adrian didn't waste any time grabbing his rifle and shooting again.

Drew and Alice's search wasn't going much better; they hadn't found anything. As they headed back to camp, they saw a large log. Hoping to repeat what happened in Kansas, they attempted to flip it over. However, their efforts were naught; the log was a real log and it had some not so friendly inhabitants living in it. Several small, black scorpions were hiding under the log. The scorpions gave defensive positions, raising their stingers and clicking their claws aggressively at the new arrivals. "Any idea what species these are?" Alice asked. Drew responded with, "Pulmonoscorpius. They're probably venomous, so be careful of the stingers. However, I'd doubt it has an effect on humans." Alice nodded and said, "OK. I'll grab these guys and bring them back to camp; you check on Adrian". Drew was a little unsure about this but he trusted that Alice knew what she was doing. After a brief period of walking, he soon found the watering hole Adrian was at. And it seemed he was having the time of his life.

"Boom, headshot! Boom, headshot! Boom, headshot!", he said, constantly pulling the trigger of his water gun. However, he soon realised that he had forgotten to refill it; now it was shooting nothing but air. Drew decided to let him have his fun, as he looked at what Adrian had caught. The dragonflies he had caught were in a butterfly net hanging from a tree while the amphibians were struggling to move in the shallows, with their mouths tied shut. Drew immediately identified the species as Crassigyrinus, an almost entirely aquatic amphibian. Grabbing them one by one, he opened the portal and sent them through to the present. He decide to wait until tomorrow for the dragonflies, as it was getting dark out.

Soon Drew and Adrian were at the camp, waiting for Alice to arrive. After a few minutes, she arrived, carrying several Pulmonoscorpius and with several sting marks as testament. She placed them in the animal carriers they'd taken and looked at her teammates, "I take it all back now; grabbing scorpions is never easy." Drew nodded in agreement.

"So, mate", Adrian asked his leader, "Did you find any Arthies yet?" Drew looked at Adrian questionably. "You can stop with the accent now." Adrian smiled awkwardly, "Eh, might have done it a couple times too many back in the bog… now I can't break out of it."

Drew rolled his eyes and began, "Well to answer your question; no, we didn't. We'll have to try again tomorrow." After this, he yawned "Well I'm going to bed, if any of you need me. Whatever you do, don't start a fire."

"Why not?", Adrian asked. Drew said, "The oxygen in the atmosphere makes it very volatile; one small spark could turn this whole swamp into an ash field." The two nodded in understanding. Drew went into his tent, turned off his lantern, and prayed that nothing would happen in the interim.

To be continued


	21. Alien Empire Part 5

As Drew awoke, he noticed something interesting; the noises of the swamp had stopped. As he yawned, stretched and got up, he smelled the air, noticing something was wrong; the usual smell of rotting plants had been replaces by.. smoke. He put on his glasses and his eyes widened in horror as he witnessed the terror outside; the forest for miles around was a blazing inferno. He yelled to wake his team, "Guys, get up. There's a fire!" Adrian and Alice immediately ran out of their tents, their expressions ones of dumbstruck horror. Adrian only had time to say, "A fire?!"

Drew nodded, "Lightning must have struck somewhere last night, and now the fire's closing in!" He gestured to the horizon, where the flames were moving through the forest, closer to the tents. He turned to Alice and Adrian, "Grab the captures and get everything packed up and through the portal now!" "Wait, where are you going?" Alice asked, her eyes widening in concern

Drew fixed his hat and replied without looking back, "I need to save an Arthlopluera. If I don't, the big guy at the park has no future. I refuse to return empty handed." As he said that, he dashed into the swamp. As he left, Alice gave Adrian a concerned look, asking. "Do you really think he won't return if he fails?"

Adrian's current attention was on a Meganeura that he'd caught flying away from the towering inferno when she asked the question, before turning to respond to her, "Yeah. He's going to stay even if it kills him." Alice's eyes widened in shock and she gazed open-mouthed at Adrian, who just shrugged and said, "We can't stop him, so we'll just have to pray that luck is on our side."

Drew was running as fast as he can through the burning swamp. He looked everywhere, in order to detect an Arthropleura hidden under foliage. His discovery, however, came entirely by accident. As he blundered into a clearing, what initially appeared to be a large brown log suddenly reared up and looked him in the eye. He'd found another Arthropleura. There was a subtle difference between it and the one at the park; it had to be female. A flying cinder brought him back to reality; he realised just how close to the inferno he was.

The giant began to crawl away, but Drew, not wishing to sentence it to its death, jumped onto its back and tried to hold it down, whilst trying to open the portal. The centipede bucked and shook like a bull in a rodeo ring, trying to get free, as the fire got closer. She managed to get Drew off her back but he maintained his grip and managed to physically lift the front part of the struggling Arthropleura, raising her up, whilst dodging her snapping jaws. As the fire got closer, the smoke thickened and visibility soon went to zero. Drew used his free arm to grab the portal remote and quickly press the on button. Soon a bright vortex appeared, engulfing both man and arthropod. When it disappeared, they were gone entirely, back to the present.

The insect house was soon a busy place. Meganeura were flying everywhere, as keepers kept trying to move the new arrivals. Jack and Leon were supervising the move. Both were smiling, rather smugly; they'd shown everyone they could work together and this move could be carried out without a hitch. However, that was soon about to change. A keeper briefly moved to pick up the carrier containing one of the Pulmnscorpius when, suddenly, the stinger lashed out, inches from his face.

The keeper was so terrified he immediately backed up, accidentally breaking the glass of the mesothelae exhibit, causing one of the largest spiders to come out, chittering at him in displeasure. The keeper backed away from the two arachnids, only to find himself met by the male Arthropleura. The keeper was trapped; he couldn't escape without angering one of the giants. The keeper closed his eyes and waited for one of them to attack.

Soon he felt another presence in front of him and saw Nikolai in a battle stance with the large arthropods. He kept his eyes on all three, waiting for them to continue to advance, as if daring them to try and harm this keeper. This seemed to distract them long enough for Drew and Alice to sneak up from behind and pick up the spider and scorpion and return them to their enclosures. To divert the Arthropleura, Adrian placed a trail of vegetation for it. Once the bugs were taken care of, Nikolai turned to the keeper, who was still trembling on the ground. The keeper thanked Nikolai vociferously, before the veteran shook his head and responded with "Think nothing of it."

Jack and Leon watched the spectacle with open-mouthed looks of surprise; they certainly hadn't expected this. Jack, gobsmacked, muttered "At least it wasn't our fault".

Later that night, Nikolai was sitting in the dome when he heard someone approaching. He turned around and saw Jack walking towards him. Jack smiled and said "Hi", before sitting down next to Nikolai. He calmly asked, "What you doin'?"

Nikolai's response was a very simple, "Watching."

Jack nodded, "Oh. Like watching the bugs?"

Nikolai nodded, "I do, after a tough day it's very, what's the word... relaxing." Jack slumped back. "Yeah, relaxing is the word for it. You can just sit, wind down, and watch the bugs buzz past."

After a small pause, Nikolai gave off a small smile. "I used to catch insects, you know."

"Really?"

Nikolai gave a wistful look, "Yes. When I was a child I would go into the garden and look for insects, worms, spiders, you name it. When I found them, I'd put them in a jar, an empty jar, watch them a bit and set them free. And, when I set them free, I'd make sure I put them right where I found them, down to the exact spot. I did that all the time."

Jack smiled, "Yeah. I did that, when I was a kid. I suppose that's a little boy thing - looking for weird-looking stuff that all the grown-ups think is disgusting." There was a brief pause as a Meganura buzzed past them, "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

Nikolai nodded, "Da. They are beautiful. What's your secret, Denham?"

Jack gave him a curious look, "What do you mean?"

Nikolai's response amazed him, "Everybody likes you. EVERYBODY. But me? I'm not a popular guy. Uh-uh. Not popular at all. Oh, nobody likes me. I don't know why. I'm alright, when you get to know me. I'm alright."

The emotion in the response surprised Jack; he'd never seen Nikolai talk about this before. In an attempt to defuse the situation, he said, "Hey, I know for a fact a lot of people think you're great." The clearly unconvinced Nikolai raised an eyebrow, "Really?" Jack smiled, "Yeah. They think you're just a little too... work-focused sometimes. You're a little married to the job. But that's okay! It's fine to be dedicated. There's nothin' wrong with that."

In response to this, Nikolai rolled his eyes, "That's because I WORRY! All the time. Every day, I worry about keeping everyone safe. You, Drew, Kyle... Everyone. And, besides, I have other interests." Jack raised his eyebrow and said, curiously, "Like what?" The response he got surprised him, "Like music!"

"What kind?"

"Every kind! Music is the only thing in the world that...", Nikolai then stopped himself. There was a brief, awkward pause; neither of them had suspected this was how their night was going to go.

Jack turned to Nikolai and smiled, "Y'know, I don't care what people say about you. I think you're an alright guy" He then turned to check his watch, "God, is that the time? Sorry, I'd love to stay and chat but I gotta get to the Devonian House. There's a couple of lovebirds right now probably wondering where their dinner is. See you tomorrow." Jack then moved to leave the building, as he left, Nikolai gave a soft smile and said, "Thank you."

As Jack left the building, he briefly stood outside and said, more to himself than anyone else, "Anyways, you're wrong. People don't _like_ me, they just laugh at my jokes. There's a difference. A big difference".

The next day, Jack, Collete and Leon were currently supervising the cleanup effort from yesterday's debacle. Nikolai had meant this as both a team-building exercise and to ensure what had happened would never happen again. One Petrolacosaurus, who the keeping staff had dubbed Lubbock, had been following them the whole time. He'd even briefly climbed his way up Collete's body and started riding on her head. They'd put him down after that, but had largely let him follow them around; he wasn't doing any harm, they reasoned. They then heard footsteps and saw Drew walking up the stairs, with a smile on his face. He said proudly, "Well, I finally got names for the three bugs from yesterday."

In response, all three rolled their eyes and Collete said, somewhat sarcastically, "What could they possibly be?" Drew smiled, "For the Arthlopluera, Incursio. For the scorpion, Murasame", he paused briefly, before showing a Mesothelaeus in his hands, "And for her, Pumpkin."

All three stared at him in dumbstruck silence. Collete said, "Pumpkin?" and then burst out laughing. Jack and Leon both reacted in sudden surprise; they didn't think she could laugh, period. She said, in between chuckles, "That's the most ridiculous name ever!", pointing at the spider. The newly named Pumpkin didn't take kindly to this and jumped towards Leon, Jack and Collete, who all recoiled in horror from it, with Lubbock tearing off down the hall. It climbed up Collete's leg and latched itself to her, remaining steadfastly on as she tried to get it off. She managed to dislodge it, only for it to climb up Jack's back and latch itself onto the one place it couldn't reach. Leon turned to look at it, only for it to jump on his face. Drew observed the chaos, and snarkily noted, "Note to self; don't ever insult Pumpkin."

Meanwhile, Collete, Jack and Leon had managed to dislodge the spider and escape the insect house, in both fear and humiliation. Sitting on a bench outside, Jack turned to Leon and said. "At least this time, we have company."

 **Next time, the team goes after larger reptiles.**

 **(A herd of herbivorous reptiles is shown in a holding pen)**

 **Including carnivorous celebrities.**

 **(A sail walking across the camera.)**

 **While Lubbock and his new friends go on an adventure.**

 **(A jeep falling towards the ocean in slow motion)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: The New Rulers!**

Animals rescued

Arthropleura moyseyi: 2 (1 male 1 female)

Mesothelus kansensis: 8 (6 males 2 females)

Meganeura moyni: 29 (14 males 15 females)

Proterogyrinus scheelei: 7 (4 males 3 females)

Petrolacosaurus kansensis: 6 (3 males 3 females)

Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis: 8 (5 males 3 females)

Crassigyrinus scoticus: 8 (4 males 4 females)


	22. The New Rulers Part 1

Chapter 6: The New Rulers

Drew, Jack and Leon were currently at the docks waiting for Theodore to arrive. They didn't receive much from his message, other than that he was bringing additional help. Nobody knew who they meant, but they were about to find out.

A boat soon pulled up to the docks with the distinctive Novum globe logo on it. Three people disembarked from the boat; one was Theodore himself, looking around the park with a paternalistic smile. The other two were people he had never met before; the first was a bald, bearded man in a business suit who looked around the place with interest. The third person, a woman about the same age as himself, had short blond hair and wore white sweats and a black tube top. She was… quite attractive, Drew had to admit; Jack and Leon snickered. Drew gave them both a venomous glare, before snapping himself back to reality and heading off to greet Theodore. The old man warmly smiled and said "Ah, there's my favourite employee", as he shook hands with Drew. Drew looked around nervously, "Is this an inspection, sir?"

"Think of it as more an informal visit. I wanted to see how you were progressing, so I decided to see these things with my own eyes. My friend here is Percival Grimm; he's Head of Projects at Novum. He was particularly keen to accompany me here." Once he heard his name, the man looked at Drew and smiled, "Charmed to meet you, Drew; Theodore has told me so much about you. And it's von Grimm."

Drew, Jack and Leon looked at each other; there was something about the man that unnerved them. Whether it was the East Coast accent, the Wolf of Wall Street shtick or the faked chumminess that did it, he didn't seem trustworthy…

Theodore smiled fondly, " Novum is a big company and he, like I, has multiple fronts to observe, but he will send some of his hand-picked employees to help with the park. After the Brontoscorpio incident, the Novum board decided that they needed to be more involved in the running of the park." Drew nodded; it was, undoubtedly, difficult, but they'd get used to it. Soon he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw the woman looking at him with a menacing look on her face. "So you're my new boss?", she had as she leaned closer. Drew got nervous and was hoping Theodore would call her off. In response to this, she gave a chuckle; she was trying to prank him.

Jack and Leon chuckled and even Theodore was trying to suppress a laugh, "I see I was right about you two getting along. This is Cynthia Night. She was picked by the Novum board; I maintained you were fine with the team you already had, but they overruled me. She has experience dealing with dangerous animals, so I think she will work out just fine for you. I'm expecting you to behave yourself, Cynthia; I don't want you almost killing Drew as well." "Don't worry I'll go easy on him", she said, with a part-mischievous part-menacing grin, which made Theodore, Jack and Leon suddenly look worried and Percival roll his eyes.

As Theodore and Percival left, Theodore turned to him and said "Thank you, old friend, for accompanying me here. As you can see, there is no limit to what we can achieve with this place." Percival smiled enigmatically, "Don't mention it."

A little bit later Drew was in his office preparing for the next day's mission. He looked at the files of what to expect and was about to turn in for the night. He turned around and suddenly saw Cynthia on his couch reading the files. Drew jumped in shock and placed a hand on his beating heart. "How the hell did you get in here?!" She rolled her eyes and said, sarcastically, "I came in through the window, obviously." Drew gave her an indignant look, "Haven't you even heard of knocking?". She paused, as if thinking deeply, before smiling at him and saying "Nope, must be foreign." Drew sighed as she kept looking at the files. "So next up is the Dimetrodon huh?" Drew nodded in confirmation. Cynthia got a look of excitement on her face. "Yes! This will be so exciting I can feel it!"

"Dimetrodon are dangerous; we shouldn't take this lightly! The Permian was when the vertebrates had conquered the land; Dimetrodon was the first of the great terrestrial predators." Drew continued his rant, unaware of the fact that Cynthia was mouthing off his words. She was a piece of work, he reflected. The pair soon stopped to notice a thunderclap outside; it was storm season.

Cynthia went to the door and opened it. "Well that's my cue to leave. As much as I love danger, I'm not suicidal." With that she left Drew alone in his home as the storm began.

The very next morning, the staff looked to see that the storm hadn't left much damage; aside from a couple of knocked-down trees. However, at the Carboniferous House, the door slowly creaked open and a small head popped out. The small, green creature cautiously looked around, before it left the building and the door closed.

The next morning, Drew headed to the portal site. To his surprise, he found that Cynthia was already there with the supplies she'd need. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal flared to life at the push of a button. Drew put the portal remote in his pocket, turned to her and said, "You ready for prehistory?" Her response was, "Bring it on!" Drew nodded at her and they entered through the portal.

After the blinding light from the portal dimmed down, they gazed in surprise at the landscape that greeted them; the land was a mixture of forest and scrubland. The Earth was starting to look more recognizable; compared to the previous landscapes, this looked very much like a present day forest. It was just the creatures that were unusual.

A herd of large, pot-bellied grey creatures roamed around the land; they looked like large lizards, with large brown sails, with blue eyespots, on their backs. A few of the creatures took notice of the intruders but soon went back to feasting on the plants. "So, these are Dimetrodon then? I thought they ate meat." Cynthia asked.

Drew shook his head and responded, "No, these are Edaphosaurus; they're prey for Dimetrodon, though." Cynthia nodded as she began to look around the herd; there were at least 35 individuals. "So, what's the plan?", she asked him

"We'd need something to herd them all together, so we can use the portal on them all." Soon the herd began to look about uneasily, as the younger edaphosaurs moved closer to the centre. Cynthia grabbed her binoculars and looked around until she saw a yellowish-green sail in the distance. She looked down and saw a green head poke out from the rocks. This was, no doubt, a Dimetrodon.

Before she had time to blink, the large predator charged straight for the herd. The edaphosaurs tried using their large sails to confuse the large predator, but their attempts were in vain; the carnivore had already found a target. The edaphosaurs, with no options left, stampeded, with the dimetrodon tearing off in pursuit. This was a golden opportunity; Drew tossed the remote to Cynthia, closer to the front of the stampede. She pressed the red button and the portal whirred into life. The edaphosaurs all began to stampede through. However, the dimetrodon had managed to catch up to a juvenile on the edge of the herd and sank its teeth into its neck. The young edaphosaur didn't stand a chance as the predator's teeth slashed out its throat; it's life was over in an instant. The two explorers watched the predator claim its prize.

They were dumbfounded at what they had just seen; an actual Dimetrodon hunt. The first of the great terrestrial predators actually hunting prey. However, they were unaware that they were being watched; another dimetrodon was observing them from the bushes.

At about five feet long, he was only a juvenile; still hunting small amphibians and insects, with the occasional fish or egg. His sail was half the size; it was too cumbersome for moving about in the trees, where he had grown up. His body still possessed relics from this arboreal lifestyle; his tail was slightly more mobile than that of an adult and his claws were still curved. In fact, he had only recently started moving on the ground. He, too, had been attracted by the sound of the kill. Now, he couldn't just approach the carcass and start feeding; the adults of his kind were cannibalistic and were known to kill smaller Dimetrodon in fights over carcasses. Somewhere, in his primitive reptilian brain, he felt an emotion similar to dismay; what a disappointment it was to have to wait for what little would be left of the carcass. His attention turned to the two tall creatures in front of him. They were much larger than he was and he had never seen things like these before. But he was hungry; they would have to do. One of them would be a good meal; the possibility of sating his hunger overweighed any possible injury. They were distracted; a perfect time to sneak up and lunge. With a quiet hiss, he charged at them.

To be continued.


	23. The New Rulers Part 2

The two explorers didn't notice the predator charging at them until it was too late; it had moved so fast, it was almost a blur. Veering towards Cynthia, it moved to pounce at her, but she suddenly turned round and noticed the approaching creature. The Dimetrodon, its ambush bungled, stopped in its tracks, and suddenly lunged at her. However, Cynthia's reflexes were fast; she didn't waste anytime in grabbing the reptile like an alligator and holding its mouth shut. As she struggled, she smirked. "I know a lot of guys go all over for me, but I didn't expect a reptile to as well."

Drew rolled his eyes; was she really treating this like a game? He snarkily went, "Well, Dimetrodon are closely related to the ancestors of mammals…" Cynthia gave him a confused look and rolled her eyes, "Was that supposed to be a joke?" "It was wordplay", Drew said looking away from his partner and back to the struggling synapsid.

After the predator had stopped struggling, Cynthia decided to let it go. It immediately raised its hackles, swished its tail and hissed at them, as if it was anticipating them to attack it. When nothing happened, the dimetrodon relaxed; it clearly wasn't in any danger from these new creatures. Drew threw some meat on the ground and the small creature ate voraciously, periodically darting its head from side to side. Cynthia stared at it in shock as it simply finished eating and looked at them curiously, before ignoring them. Drew looked down and noticed the little creature. Deciding to take the risk, after throwing some more meat down, he went down and petted the small synapsid. The creature did not notice him, as it continued to eat. Cynthia threw the juvenile some more meat, while Drew got the remote ready. "I was thinking Spiny for a name", Drew said as he pressed the button and Cynthia left a trail of meat leading to the portal. The newly named Spiny saw the light and immediately followed the meat through the glowing light; hunger outweighed anything else.

The female dimetrodon, meanwhile, was continuing to eat her meal, ignoring the events miles away. Sadly for her, she wasn't the only large predator around. She suddenly heard a growl and saw five large males approaching the carcass. The female would normally have defended her carcass; however, she was pregnant and needed to lay her eggs. While she was going to be hungry, she knew better than to risk a fight. Drew and Cynthia saw the scene play out, Cynthia having a curious look on her face. "Where do you suppose she's heading?", she asked.

"I don't know. But first let's focus on the males; we could use these big guys at the park." They crept towards the males and watched them eat for a bit. One of the large predators grabbed the intestines and shock them around causing dung to fly everywhere.

Cynthia had a brilliant idea in her head. She crept more towards the carcass, the Dimetrodon too preoccupied with their meal to notice. Once she had gotten close enough, she grabbed the tail of the carcass and started to drag it away. A male put his foot and stopped her for a minute, but she fought back; it turned into a demented tug-o-war. Eventually, she'd managed to wrest the carcass from the male and began to drag it along, with the males following. Pausing for breath, she turned back and turned on the portal, tossing the carcass through. The Dimetrodon followed it like dogs to a tennis ball; once they were all through, she turned it off. She turned to Drew, who was standing there in a bit of shock, before smirking and going. "Boosh. I win."

At the park. Spiny was clambering on a pole in his holding pen, surveying his new surroundings. All around him, familiar-looking herbivores were eating, but there seemed to be little else for miles around. More of the strange creatures were walking around; one had picked him up and moved some strange humming thing across him, before another had put him in this holding pen. He clambered down to investigate his surroundings, before something small and green darted into a hole in a log. He backed up, startled, before he moved forward, stalking the small shape; this might be a good meal. Soon a small, green head popped out; it was Lubbock. Spiny looked at the intruder for a minute before he snapped his jaws at it and pounced. Lubbock dodged him and scurried out, Spiny chasing him. The chase continued for a good while before Lubbock darted through a gap in the fence, which Spiny couldn't fit in. After several attempts, Spiny hissed indignantly; what a disappointment it was to find that his prey had gotten away. Suddenly, a large amount of meat landed in the holding pen; Spiny ignored Lubbock and ran towards it. It was, after all, an easier meal.

Lubbock looked as the synapsid began to feed; he had been ignored by the new predator. He was also hungry and exhausted; maybe he could steal a few morsels from the meat pile. Creeping quietly towards the meat pile, he began to eat. Spiny looked at Lubbock, snorted briefly and ignored him; chasing the little scavenger off wasn't worth the trouble. They continued to eat for several minutes, until they noticed a small hole in the pen.

Back at the Permian, the female dimetrodon had just finished laying her eggs into her nest, with Drew and Cynthia waiting for the right moment to lure her away. Soon, the female laid down by the nest, lying motionless. Taking the opportunity, Cynthia went towards the nest to lure the female away with some meat. However, this had little effect; the mother simply snapped at them. They tried the same tactic again. While Cynthia dealt with the dimetrodon, Drew captured any predators trying to steal the eggs. In particular, he noticed several brown amphibians, each about a metre long, which he identified as Seymouria. Putting them in transport cages, he resolved that he would send them through the portal once the mission was done. Eventually, as the sun rose on the next day, it was clear that their plan wasn't going to work; they had no choice but to get the Seymouria back to the park and think of a new plan.

Meanwhile, Lubbock followed Spiny to a small pond. Lubbock had been following him for a while now; if he was attacked, he could seek safety in the company of a more intimidating target. Spiny had climbed over the fence and had begun drinking from the lake, Lubbock keeping a good distance from Spiny. Suddenly, the water churned, as Howler emerged from the water and clambered out onto land. Spiny hissed at Howler, who bellowed in response. They all looked at each other curiously; none of them had ever seen anything like each other before. All suddenly noticed a hole in the fence, big enough for them all to slip out of. The three animals walked out of the hole in the fence, keeping a distance from each other. They continued on their journey until they reached something of interest; a Jeep.

Drew and Cynthia decided to return to the Permian a few months later; by that time, the female's eggs would have hatched. They could save an entire family of Dimetrodon. Once they returned, they got hit by major déjà vu; another herd of edaphosaurs. This herd was almost twice the size of the one they had brought back already; consisting of over sixty animals. Once again taking the remote from Drew, she snuck up behind the herd and managed to turn the portal on. The edaphosaurs paid no attention to the light, until Cynthia pressed an air-horn, scaring the herd and causing them to stampede through the portal. Drew ran after her, carrying the Seymouria in crates. At the park Kyle was watching with Jack, as the herd came through the portal. Both stared at the herd in silence, as the animals milled about in the holding pen, before Jack said "Wow. That's a lot." Kyle facepalmed and rolled his eyes, "I've just moved a herd of giant reptiles; now I have to do it twice. Black rage doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling at the moment." He checked the communicator to see what was up with Drew. The response he got? "blame Cynthia". Kyle and Jack looked at each other; maybe the board had made a mistake with this new team member.


	24. The New Rulers Part 3

Part 3

Using landmarks to navigate meant that it didn't take long for the duo to find the nest again. However, when they did, it wasn't a pretty sight. The eggs still hadn't hatched and the mother was in poor condition; months without eating had weakened her. Drew raised his tranquilizer and Cynthia got the bait ready; they were about to begin plan B to rescue the mother. However, things were about to change.

Another female approached the nest. She, too, was pregnant and needed somewhere to lay her eggs. But the resident mother knew better than to share if intruder dug out her own eggs she would kill them. Both could not afford to lose, but it would be impossible for one not to. Without warning, they both charged at each other and began a violent wrestling match, each trying to push the other one to the ground. The two humans observing knew better than get involved; they would have to wait and pray for the best outcome. The fight dragged for a very long time, continuing on into the night. The two explorers tried to stay up, but in the end, sleep conquered them; they would see the results in the morning.

Meanwhile, Lubbock, Spiny and Howler clambered into the Jeep from a ramp in the back (Spiny significantly easier than the other two). The three animals looked around in interest; separating out across the strange new object. Spiny inspected the steering wheel, sticking his front feet in it and raising his head to scan the landscape. However, Howler then pressed up against the gas pedal and suddenly everything changed.

The eyes of all three animals widened as the Jeep instantly took of and began to plough through the forest. Spiny had his front feet stuck in between the steering wheel and tried to get them out, causing the car to spin like a top. Lubbock, the lightest of the three, was thrown onto the front window where he was able to get a good view of all the chaos they were causing. Howler, meanwhile, was trying to climb back onto the seat, but his tiny legs and the spinning car proved to be a problem.

Eventually the Jeep ride came to an end when the vehicle approached a cliff. With nothing able to stop it, the jeep teetered on the edge and landed, full-speed ahead off the edge. Time seemed to slow down as the Jeep slowly approached the water, before it landed with a loud splash. The world appeared to go silent before, suddenly the passengers emerged, one at a time. Lubbock was atop of Spiny's head while he and Howler swam to shore. Once they arrived, several keepers came and began to dry the three off, much to Spiny's dismay. For this trio, the adventure was over.

Meanwhile, the same could be said for the two Permian explorers. The morning light had revealed the result of the fight last night. The resident mother had been victorious. However, it had come at a cost; her life. Her lifeless, ruined body lay by her nest; a wound to her throat still oozing blood revealed where the fatal blow had lay. She would still stand sentinel over her nest in death, it seemed. The other mother was still around as well. Her leg was injured and she had nearly lost an eye in the struggle; three long scars were running across the injured female's head. Knowing they had to do something, Drew and Cynthia quickly turned on the portal and began to head back. Using the meat, they were able to entice the injured female into following them through the portal; the eggs from the first mother's nest were also carefully placed into a box and carried through the portal, back to the present.

At the park, Jack and Kyle had transported the injured female to the veterinary station. Linda looked at her, as she lay anesthetized in the veterinary offices and muttered "Drew wasn't kidding. She's in a bad way". More loudly, she stated "Careful now everybody. We don't know how serious this could be". Linda donned a par of magnifying loupes and turned towards a tech standing near the magnifier, "Excuse me, can you move the lamp over so I can get a closer look?" The tech nodded, "Yes ma'am" and moved the device over; the female's body was illuminated in the glow, revealing the creature's mauled hind leg. Linda looked through the loupes at the bite marks and said, "Hmm, ok, not as bad as it could have been. A relatively clean cut from the bite. Should be easy enough to get cleaned up and treated". She looked over at one of the surgeons and said "Antibiotics?" The surgeon nodded, "Yes" and opened a drawer containing multiple antibiotics, "Which kind? Bird? Lizard? Mammal?

Linda turned to him and said "Reptile.". The surgeon handed her some reptile antibiotics, and she gave the anesthetized synapsid the injection needed, "Alright, time to get to work". She turned to Yolanda and said, "Yolanda, pass me the swab will you?". Yolanda nodded and passed her boss the swab, to which Linda replied "Thank you", as she wiped the bite marks with it, before further cleaning the wounds. She then indicated a nearby vet tech and said "Alright, sutures please", to which the vet tech handed them over, "Alright, keep the light on me and the bite; this will require utmost care". Linda worked meticulously and carefully on stitching up the bite marks on the hind leg, the claw marks on the face and the other wounds on the body; after what seemed like a lifetime, the operation was finally over. Linda breathed out "There, that should hopefully be enough", before nodding, "Alright everyone, good work. Let's get this big girl to one of the recovery pens"

The injured female Dimetrodon had been put in one of the recovery pens in order to recuperate, whilst the eggs, only a short time away from hatching, were placed in one of the incubators. Watching from above were Lubbock, Spiny, and Howler; recaptured after their little escapade and now in animal carriers. Spiny hissed indignantly at this, his noise drowned out by Howler's bellows; only Lubbock was silent.

Meanwhile Drew and Cynthia watched the recovered Dimetrodon limp about the holding pen, as Drew held his head down. Cynthia took notice of this, staring at him curiously. "Something bothering you?", she asked him. "I failed", was all he said; she knew he was talking about the other female Dimetrodon. Cynthia's response was to shrug, "Ah well, that's life; you can't save everything". Drew sighed, "Yeah; I suppose so." Cynthia calmly walked away, in order to see how the treatment of the injured female Dimetrodon was going. Drew was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice his walkie-talkie ring. "Uh, fearless leader?", he heard Jack's voice ring into his walkie-talkie, "You'd better come up here…" He walked into the vet station to find Kyle, Jack, Cynthia and Linda surrounding the incubator. He turned to Linda Suddenly, the nearest egg broke open, and a small green head peeked out of the shell; it was a baby dimetrodon. Soon, the other eggs began to join it; within minutes, the incubator was filled with baby Dimetrodon. Everyone was smiling or gaping into the incubator open mouthed. Drew had tears of joy running out of his eyes; he had succeeded. He'd saved the Dimetrodon eggs!

Eventually everyone got their new homes figured out in the park's new Permian Plains section. The two edaphosaur herds were put together into what was the park's largest enclosure yet. Some were lying in the shade, while others were drinking from the river running through, or eating from the bushes. The Seymouria had an enclosure pockmarked with burrows to live in and a small pool to wet their skin in. Currently, they were all setting up their territories.

The Dimetrodons also had their home figured out. The adults were all put into one enclosure, whilst Spiny had his own exhibit, full of logs and climbing poles for him to clamber about on. He was currently stalking the "branches", searching for prey that wasn't there; the babies would join him once they were old enough. The injured female was able to make a recovery and was building her nest in a secluded area of the paddock, so the others wouldn't attack it. And at the entrance of the viewing area for the dimetrodon, a large statue of the mother was being built.

Life in the park was going as usual… or, at least, that's what everyone thought. Later that night, a guard looked into the dimetrodon enclosure. He talked into a communicator, "Yeah, boss. Everything went according to plan; these big guys are actually quite impressive, you should see them", he said with a smile, "The juveniles might be a bit troublesome; the one they already have seems to be a bit of an escape artist… What happened? You honestly wouldn't believe me if I told you. Yes, yes, I know the drill; act like we're on their side and gather information until you guys give the OK."

Next time the team takes on the ultimate challenge.

(A large mammal like reptile run towards the camera).

The most extreme time of earths history.

(A shot of a desolate landscape)

A time when almost every living thing perished.

(Shots of bones at a dried up waterhole).

All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Passport to Hell

Animals rescued:

Edaphosaurus pogonias: 101 (57 males 44 females)

Dimetrodon teutonis: 16 (8 males 8 females)

Seymoruia sanjuaensis: 8 (6 males 2 females)


	25. Passport to Hell Part 1

Chapter 7: Passport to Hell

Jack looked out at the six dimetrodon. "You ready for this?", Jack turned to the driver, who nodded in affirmative, "Good. Let's do this!" The driver pushed down on a gas petal and the Jeep they were in drove out into the dimetrodon exhibit. Jack grabbed a piece of meat, attacked to a rope, and tossed it onto the enclosure's floor. The large sail-backs took notice of the meat and began to move towards it. As the jeep went further, the meat began to move along with it, causing the Dimetrodon to follow it. "Are they giving chase!?" the driver asked. Jack squinted to get a better view. "They're starting to follow us, yes". He picked up his walkie-talkie and stated "Get your timers ready!". He was soon interrupted by one of the males pushing against the jeep, trying to get any other meat in the jeep. The driver sped the jeep up to get the carnivore off them, "These guys sure are determined, aren't they!" Jack chuckled.

The other dimetrodons soon began chasing after the meat. As they did, the jeep increased in speed. There was method to this madness; Jack and another member of the keeping staff had been assigned to help the research division work out the top speed of an adult dimetrodon. Eventually, one of the males was able to latch onto the meat and separated it from the rope. The chase ended, as the victor claimed his prize. The jeep slowed down and the driver drove it out of the exhibit.

As this was going on, two staff members, wearing the blue uniforms of researchers, were sitting in the Dimetrodon hide, watching the events. One, Matt Thompson, was about Jack's height and Adrian's build with brown hair, fair skin and brown eyes, whilst the other, Will Darrow, was the same height, with Leon's build, fair skin, ashe blonde hair and black eyes.

Jack's voice chimed over the walkie-talkie, "I've got your data, Matt. How fast would you say that was?". Matt stated, "Thanks Jackie, for being such a good help. I'd say it was about 5 metres per second". Jack chuckled at his remark, "So, that's about 12 miles an hour; that's faster than I was expecting." Matt smiled, "Komodo dragon speed. I'd best send these off to Khatin. Thanks for playing lab assistant for us." Jack laughed, his voice tinny over the radio, "Don't mention it! I could've done this all day!". "Shame Alice couldn't have come. She'd have thought it fun", Jack said cheerfully, before signing off. "She's going on the mission today, isn't she?", Will said, his voice slightly tinged with worry. Matt snorted and said in response, "Yeah, lucky her! I wish I could have tagged along". Will looked at him, perplexed, "Why?", to which Matt stated, "Will, buddy, therapsids are my area of interest; that period of time would be Mecca."

Meanwhile, in Drew's office, he was looking at the files for the mission. "I'm taking it Jack enjoyed helping the research project?", Drew asked, as he looked over his files for the mission. Cynthia nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! I've never seen anyone look so thrilled before. Shame you couldn't have seen it". Drew didn't even give a remark to her last comment. He responded, "Just don't-." "Get carried away, yeah, yeah. You've only been doing this six months; you're acting like you've been doing it for years", she asked.

"Look, me and Alice are going out to get some larger carnivores; as much as I hate to say it, you're in charge until we get back. This is your chance." He quickly hung up before Cynthia could respond and pinched his nose; if he wasn't going to get killed by a carnivorous dinosaur, Cynthia would probably kill him. He suddenly noticed Alice walking into the office and turned to look at her. "Are you ready?", Drew said, to which Alice nodded in affirmative. Drew explained more about their mission; they were heading to the end of the Permian, which ended with the greatest extinction event ever, wiping out almost 90% of life on Earth. It was so severe, in fact, that it had been dubbed the Great Dying.

Shortly after, they headed to the portal site. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal flared to life at the push of a button. Drew put the portal remote in his pocket and, after making sure the remote was secured , he turned to Alice, who nodded at him. Drew smiled at her and they entered through the portal.

After the blinding light from the portal dimmed down, the first thing that hit them was the heat. They looked around and saw a vast expanse of sand, stretching for miles. Ironically, this desert would become the pine forests of Siberia… 250 million years hence. Alice looked around, muttering "Jeez, it looks like the planet Jakku. So where should we start?". Drew replied, "Look for a watering hole. Watering holes are like candy stores to desert animals", Drew replied. "OK, where's the nearest waterhole?", Alice asked, annoyed.

Drew looked around for any signs of vegetation. Soon he noticed something running across the sand dunes, with such a speed that it was, for all intents and purposes, a blur. "What the hell is that?", Alice's voice yelled. Neither of them could tell; the creature was puma-sized from their best glimpses of it. However, it had moved so fast that they couldn't discern it. Drew suddenly turned round and found the creature standing in front of them, its body almost blending in with the sand. It looked almost… tired, like that sudden burst of speed had sapped its energy and that it was about to collapse.

The creature, staring at them, walked forward a few steps, snarled at them and stalked off. Now, Drew and Alice could get a good look at it. Its body was mammal-like, with long legs held under the body and feet ending in five viciously clawed toes. Its body combined the upfront ferocity of a dog and the power and stealth of a big cat. However, its head was disproportionately large for its body, to an almost comical degree; like a crocodile's head had been placed on a mammal's body. Lips covered a tooth-filled mouth; most prominent were its upper canines, which hung out the mouth like daggers. The creature was a tannish yellow in colour, with patches of dark brown on assorted areas of its body. However, there was no pattern to the patches; they just were randomly blotched on the body.

Drew identified it instantaneously. It was a gorgonopsid; a female, by the looks at it. From her size, she was most likely Gorgonops, one of the largest of the gorgonopsids. However, she probably wasn't fully grown; probably only a subadult. Books had described them as scaly creatures; mammal only in the sense of their stance. Otherwise, they were reptiles to the core; half-formed intermediates between mammal and reptile. However, it… she was covered in a layer of bristly hair and, on her head, there were the beginnings of what could be considered ears. The term "mammal-like reptile" now seemed like a term of grave offence; she looked far more mammalian than reptile. In fact, if not for a few physical differences, she looked almost exactly like a mammal. They felt almost elated at this encounter. The gorgonopsids were the apex predators of the Permian; vicious, powerful and deadly.

They followed the direction from which the gorgonopsid had come from and came to a lake that had dried out so much it was barely a puddle, sustaining a small growth of drought-resistant desert plants. There, four other gorgonopsids were either drinking at what was left of the lake, or digging through the soil. Drew and Alice took the opportunity to lure the three nearest gorgonopsids with a trail of meat; they followed the trail, into the present.

The female gorgonopsid ignored the rescue of the other three and continued her drink. Suddenly, a large, brown salamander-like creature, erupted from the water and latched onto her lower lip, she didn't take kindly to this and shook the attacker off before chasing it back into the water. Drew and Alice walked over to see what had attacked the female gorgonopsid, "I think that's a type of labyrinthodont. I didn't get a good enough look to tell which one it is exactly." "Something tells me that it's not going to last much longer. If anything, that one might be one of the last of his kind." As the two continued observing the two creatures, a little head popped out of a burrow, curiously watching them.

To be continued


	26. Passport to Hell Part 2

At the portal site, Jack, Matt and Collete were currently looking over the new arrivals. Four gorgonopsids, the largest being the size of a Bengal tiger, paced around the holding pens. Matt was incredibly animated; these things were his specialty after all. "The gorgonosids were the apex predators of the Permian; vicious, deadly and powerful. They're therapsids, close to the ancestry of mammals, but I was never expecting them to look this mammal-like; they're mammals in all but name!"

"The captain wants to know the possible threat levels that they pose and what security measures should be undertaken to prevent them from escaping", Collete retorted, "He doesn't want to know minor details of their diet and classification. Stay back on the job, Thompson." Matt snapped back out of his euphoric state, into reality, "Well, I'd imagine there'd be no difference between it and the security measurements required for a Bengal tiger. You won't need anything big and fancy, just traditional stand-off barriers and electric fences", he said before glaring at the security worker who nodded in response, "Actually, I have some research I'd like to send to Khatin about the Dimetrodon study this morning. I'll be back in a few minutes", he said before he left.

Jack and Collete were left alone. They'd heard Cynthia, Kyle and Nikolai having an argument about something in Drew's office; they didn't know what it had been about. After the argument, she'd stormed out in a huff. Kyle and Nikolai had left shortly after. Jack didn't know what to make of her. Cynthia was a curious sort; Kyle and Nikolai hadn't liked her headstrong demeanour. Jack didn't get it; she was a piece of work, Jack admitted, but she seemed like a interesting person.

Jack looked over at her. She intrigued him. When everyone else was talking or joking about off-shift, she never participated. Some took that as a sign that she felt she was above everyone else. But Jack wasn't convinced; maybe she just liked being on her own. Some people just didn't like socialising much. A few people didn't like her, thinking her aloofness and icy demeanour a sign of haughtiness. Honestly, he didn't get why; he'd spend the past few hours with her and he'd thought her decent enough, highly professional and just a bit aloof. A thought briefly passed his mind; Collete was… rather attractive.

Why had he thought that? It didn't make sense; to briefly think that about someone he'd probably only interacted with twice in six months. He'd been partnered with her a couple of hours; it didn't make sense. It was a strange thought, but he dismissed it for now; focus on the job and the time to reflect on that later. Collete lifted her walkie-talkie. She turned to Jack, "Cynthia called. She wants our help with something". Jack raised an eyebrow, perplexed, "Aren't we supposed to be helping here at the portal site?". Collete shrugged, "She's the boss while Drew's away; she wouldn't call us away if it weren't important".

Meanwhile, Drew and Alice had decided to stay at the lake, split up and search the area for more creatures. Alice decided to follow the young female gorgonopsid that had stayed by the lake. She was currently walking around an area with many holes in the ground. Alice briefly saw several small brownish-grey creatures rooting on the ground. She could get only get a good look at the nearest; it looked like a cross between a prairie dog, a lizard and a turtle. Its most notable features were two small tusks on the front of its face.

Alice recognised them from the notes; they were Diictodon, another kind of therapsid. They were incredibly common in this time period and, according to Drew, largely lived as burrowers. When the gorgonopsid approached the creature, it let out a piercing cry of alarm, causing all the others to scurry back into their burrows. Alice was intrigued; this indicated that they were social, like ground squirrels and prarie dogs today. The gorgonopsid approached one and tried to stick her snout in, but the burrow was too narrow for the gorgonopsid's enormous head. Soon a little noise was heard and another Diictodon stuck its head out. The gorgonopsid walked over it, only for it to dive back into its burrow. As soon as that one had done so, another one popped its head out and the gorgonopsid went over to it. As soon as it had approached, the little reptile dived back in and another popped back out. Alice laughed as the scene played out. It looked, for all in the world, like a game of whack-a-mole.

Drew, meanwhile, was investigating the watering hole itself. With the Gorgonops gone, it was much safer. Using a stick, he tapped the water several times trying to get the labyrithodont to come out do he could identify it. After many tries, a reddish-brown head emerged from the water. It wasn't attacking, but merely watching this strange new creature by the lakebed. From its head, Drew estimated it was about the same size as the Hynerpeton back at the park. The brief observation was enough to give Drew a chance to identify its species. He got out his journal and flipped through the pages, "OK let's see, who are you?". He flipped through the pages for several minutes, before finding the right species around about the Rs, "Aha! Rhinesuchus!" Drew closed the journal and went into the water; the lake had dried up so much that it had barely come up to his ankles. He looked at the near-passive amphibian and stated, more to himself than anyone else, "Alright madam, it's time to take you out of this little puddle and into a proper watering hole." He picked up the amphibian. It was easier than he expected, he reflected; despite its size, it was too weak from the lack of food to put up any spirited resistance. Opening the portal in the puddle, he let her go and she weakly swam through the portal, into the freshwater holding pen. Drew informed Nikolai over the communicator that an amphibian was coming through; whilst it wasn't really dangerous, it never hurt to be prepared.

Soon the ground began to shake. The Gorgonops looked up as the footsteps became closer. Drew and Alice meet back up to see what was causing all the commotion. Drew grabbed his binoculars and looked to see an amazing sight. A large herd of yellowish-brown, armoured reptiles were coming to the waterhole. He recognised them immediately; they were Scutosaurus. The group they belonged to, the pareiasaurs were the principal herbivores of this time period. They were thought to be relatives of the turtles; the skulls had several turtle-like features. However, the classification was controversial. Drew and Alice shared a glance; even though they were herbivorous, the numbers they were in could drain the lake dry and denude the plants. This could cause irreparable damage to the little community by the lakeside.

To be continued


	27. Passport to Hell Part 3

Part 3

Observing the massive herd of scutosaurs, Drew and Alice decided to wait for them to rest up before trying to bring them through the portal. The stampede could, probably, also lure out the diictodons making them easier to rescue as well. Aside from Drew and Alice, the young female gorgonops was observing the herd intently, but with far less altruistic intentions. She was starving; she hadn't eaten in months. The herd was large, consisting of about twenty or thirty members. One of them had to be weak enough to kill. That question was soon answered when she spotted one wandering off; she had decided on her victim. She slowly got up and prepared to strike.

Unaware of this, Drew and Alice were watching as the scutosaurs feed on the bushes. Alice noted that they didn't chew their food, instead swallowing it whole. Suddenly a cry of pain came out. Everyone turned to see the Gorgonops with blood splattered on her muzzle and a wounded Scutosaurus standing in front of her; this was a first blow. The wounded herbivore quickly ran away, pursued by its predator, while the others got in defensive positions, bending down to hide their unarmoured throats. However, they made no move to protect their comrade; the defensive position was more for themselves than the wounded herd member. The group was a marriage of convenience, brought together for the reason of protection from predators; if you were part of a group there was always the chance that the predator would take the next guy, not you. It was a cold-blooded lottery that paid off often enough to be worthwhile adapting for. Once the predator was out of sight

Meanwhile, the lone scutosaur eventually collapsed, from a combination of its wounds and exhaustion from the chase. The Gorgonops closed in on her wounded victim, before knocking the armoured reptile over and biting its unarmoured throat. A flex of her jaws and her fangs severed the scutosaur's carotid arteries, killing it. The Gorgonops gave a roar of victory at her kill, before beginning to tear meat off the carcass. While this happened, Drew and Alice just watched. They looked at each other, open-mouthed; nature was both amazing and horrifying.

Back at the park, Jack and Collete had been filled in by Cynthia; apparently, Nikolai and Kyle threatened to have her fired if she couldn't come up with a new way to feed the carnivores by the time Drew got back. Drew had apparently ordered this, since he had deemed the original idea, which involved strapping meat to the end of a Jeep and having the carnivores pursue it, unsafe (for the driver), too risky (for damage to the Jeep) and expensive (the lawsuits from the previous two threats) and had been rejected. Her office had been a strange, cluttered sight; all through her room, papers were everywhere with scrapped ideas… some of which were pretty strange. She explained that she wasn't an outside-the-box thinker, so she wasn't doing well on trying to solve the problem. Jack had offered to help solve the problem; he'd always been good at lateral thinking puzzles.

Jack and Collete had been sitting by the portal site for several hours; Jack had been fielding Collete ideas, which she had, largely shot down. The discussion had briefly stopped so Jack and Collete could supervise the Scutosaurus being transferred to the veterinary pens, and then it was back to thinking. Jack looked at Cynthia's papers and saw the ideas she had were not very creative, technically unfeasible or both. Jack rolled his eyes; Drew was starting to become a bit of a control freak, now that the park was filling up. Or, rather, ever since the Novum board had started to take over the park's management. Drew seemed to have become obsessed with not being made a fool.

If Drew could have put every system on the park under his personal remote control, he would…. Jack's thoughts paused at "remote control". _Remote control_. Jack's eyes widened in realization. "That's it!" Collete looked at him like he'd gone mad, "What's it?" Jack began sketching to explain the idea he had and when he finished, he asked, "You good with machines?" Collete shook her head, confusedly; to which Jack smiled, "Good thing we know someone who can help." Jack and Collete left, contacting Cynthia to inform them that they had a plan.

Back in the Permian, the scutosaurs had drank the waterhole dry and eaten the majority of the vegetation. As the scutosaurs left, Drew activated the portal. The herd briefly stood, transfixed at this strange, shining light, before heading through the portal into the park, moving as if one single entity. This had left the original residents to deal with the mess the ravenous herd had left. Drew, despite himself, chuckled, "It's like gatecrashers at a party; they wreck the place and they don't even leave a tip." The diictodons could have lasted a little bit longer; they could obtain all their water from the plants they ate, if they had wanted to, but the large gorgonops' kidneys were not so efficient. This was the only watering hole for miles around; travelling through the desert would be hazardous. Desperate for water, the large predator went to the lake bed and began digging for water, as she had seen her mother do several times.

She didn't find water, but she did find what looked like a Rhinesuchus. This one was in its aestivation state and had wrapped itself into a cocoon. This made it an easy meal; one that would, also, provide water, since Rinesuchus could store large amounts of water to serve as a reserve during dry periods. Before she could open the cocoon , a small rock hit her on the head. Turning around she saw one of the strange bipedal creatures that arrived recently tossing rocks at her every time she tried to move towards the amphibian. After a while, the female left her prey and walked off; to find something easier to eat.

Once she left, Drew crept towards the sleeping labyrinthodont and tried to shake it awake. When that tactic didn't work, he carefully opened up the cocoon it had been wrapped in and tossed him through the portal. Hopefully the water would be a good wake up call. Drew's plan had been successful; the amphibian's head immediately came out of the water and gasped for air as it swam around the freshwater pool.

Once Alice lost the Gorgonops, the two of them regrouped and planned to rescue the diictodons. But before they could do, the wind suddenly began to whip up; particularly strange, since it had been a perfectly windless day before. Alice looked at Drew, "Why did the wind just whip up?" . Drew looked at her grimly and yelled, "Take shelter quickly! We're about to have a sandstorm!"

To be continued


	28. Passport to Hell Part 4

Part 4

The sandstorm, roaring like some wrathful god, engulfed the area with its abrasive projectiles. Everything for miles around was soon engulfed in sand; the smaller plants were entirely buried and the tops of the denuded large plants were barely visible. Even the diictodon burrows couldn't escape the storm and their entrances were soon buried. The little reptiles huddled together and waited the storm out. The Gorgonops continued on walking through the storm, as her eyes tried to withstand the abrasive sand. She spat sand out of her mouth. The large predator continued walking, half-blind, before collapsing from exhaustion and dehydration. Drew and Alice waited out the storm in their tent, which had been put up in a hurry before the storm came. "I assume this is how everything died out?" Alice asked, as the storm roared outside. "No. It'll just get worse from this point onwards", Drew replied; the Great Dying would last millions of years, leading to a massive extinction all over the world. This was only a small portion of it.

The storm was violent, powerful… and short. After about five or six hours, the storm began to clear. Alice slowly opened the tent and popped her head out. Everything was buried under sand. The smaller plants were entirely buried and the tops of the denuded large plants were barely visible. Even the diictodon burrows hadn't escaped the storm; their entrances had been buried. Alice looked around to see if anything was still out there and saw a very disturbing sight.

The Gorgonops was lying on one of the sand dunes, motionless. Alice slowly walked up to the unconscious Gorgonops, to see if she was still alive. As she got closer, the gorgonopsid lifted its head briefly before putting it back down. The Gorgonops' tongue lolled open as its breathing got more laboured. Alice continued to examine it, saying "She's probably severely dehydrated. Laboured breathing, lack of energy; those are all signs of malnutrition and dehydration. Well, she's living in a dying world, isn't she? Sad, really; an apex predator reduced to this…"

Drew spoke, "So, what do we do with her? Send her through the portal?" Alice shook her head, "Right now, she's clearly too weak to move on her own; the stress of transporting her might be too much. Right now, I'd say it's best if she stays here long enough for her to recover enough to at least be safely brought back to the park for further treatment." Drew said "So, what's the plan?" Alice gave him a look and matter-of-factly said "What she needs, right now, is water. She's probably severely dehydrated; if we want her to regain her strength, rehydrating her is the perfect place to start."

As Alice said this, she grabbed a large water bottle with a teat on the end and walked towards the unconscious animal, gently forcing the bottle between the therapsid's lips and squeezing it. "Poor thing", Alice muttered, "You must be so thirsty. This'll help you out." The Gorgonops briefly woke up and regarded Alice for a second, before weakly closing her eyes and beginning to suck on the bottle, planting her head on Alice's lap. As she continued to drink, Drew couldn't help but stifle a chuckle; she looked like she was bottle-feeding a lamb. Well, a large carnivorous sabre-toothed lamb.

Deciding to help her later, he continued looking for where the diictodons were, walking towards the burrows where they had been earlier. Eventually one popped its head out of the sandy burrow, followed by their mate. After a few minutes, every Diictodon was looking at him from their burrows. Drew took this chance and used a piece of lettuce to lure every single one of the little reptiles into the portal and into the park. When that was over he walked over to Alice and the Gorgonops, who was breathing more steadily as her body metabolised the welcome hydration. "Thank goodness you're here Drew. I think we can send her through the portal. How about Rey for a name?" Drew looked at her curiously, "Why?". Alice shrugged, "After the Star Wars character". Alice poured the remaining water into a trail near the portal. The newly named Rey got to her feet and began to weakly move towards the portal. Together, they led the large predator out of the wasteland of a desert, and to Prehistoric Earth, her new home

The Permian extinction was the greatest in the history of the world; over 90% of life on Earth had gone extinct. However, Drew and Alice's efforts had saved at least a handful of those species. The Permian area now had four desert themed enclosures. The scutosaurus herd occupied the largest paddock and were now either feeding on the shrubs or drinking from the lake. The rhinesuchus pair swam through their new home, a large freshwater pool. The diictodons had set up new burrows in their new paddock. And, in their paddock, the Gorgonops had begun to set a pecking order, with a large female putting herself on the top of the pecking order.

This was also the place to test Jack and Collete's new plan; apparently, they'd had to contact Darrel Reyes, the park's mechanic for something that Jack had enigmatically billed "a surprise". Drew, Nikolai, Alice, and Kyle were all waiting outside the pen to see what he had planned. "Cynthia asked Jack and Collete for help?" Drew asked. "I should just fire her already." "Don't count him out just yet", Alice assured him, "Jack's pretty good at lateral thinking; he's probably worked something out." All Nikolai had to say, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Cynthia was talking to Jack and Collete, who were standing with Darryl. Jack was holding a remote control, moving a small vehicle around the ground, which revved past them. It was a strange vehicle; it looked like a remote-controlled car, only much bigger. In fact, it was the size of a moped. "How's this for dealing with the carnivores?", Jack said, with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Darrel explained, "It works on the same principle as a remote-controlled buggy; someone controls the device using a remote control. It can pull over 50 times its own weight; it can be driven around to give the predators some exercise. It's undamageable; it's made of Teflon, which is hard enough that not even the biggest predators can pierce through it. It's crush-proof, fire-proof, bite-proof… even bulletproof." "Basically", Jack said, "it means that no-one has to be harmed, there's no risk of damage and it gives the predators some exercise". Cynthia than showed a demonstration of the device, driving it around the Gorgonops paddock, with a large piece of meat attached to it and the Gorgonops gave chase. This went on until the largest of the gorgonopsids grabbed the meat from the back of the device. As the gorgonopsids tucked into their meal, Cynthia drove it back outside of the pen. "Impressive for something that had to be created in a couple of hours", Jack said as he gave a small glare as Drew.

Drew was about to counter Jack, but then he took a look at Cynthia. She gave him a withering look; as if to say "One of your team did this… aren't you going to thank them?". Drew sighed before addressing the blonde. "Cynthia, I'm sorry I doubted you. You've clearly proven me wrong. You are now an official member of the rescue team", he said before turning to Jack. "And Jack, welcome back", he said, with a smile. In the park bar, everyone was cheering at Jack's victory. Jack smiled; he'd saved Cynthia's job, and managed to prove himself to Drew. He'd gone from a pariah to the hero of the hour. Everyone was happy, except for someone at the back who gave Jack and Drew a withering stare…

Next time the team heads to the behind to the Triassic to save the most successful animal ever

(a huge herd of tusked reptiles move into a canyon)

While they also deal with interpersonal tensions

(Jack turns around to see someone spying on them)

And the humble beginnings of a great lineage

(A small reptile catches a dragonfly)

All next time on the season finale of Prehistoric Earth: Life and Death Promised!

Animals rescued:

Scutosaurus: 27 (15 male, 12 female)

Rhinesuchus: 2 (1 male, 1 female)

Diictodon: 12 (6 male, 6 female)

Gorgonops: 5 (2 male, 3 female)


	29. Life and Death Promised Part 1

Chapter 8: Life and Death Promised

"OK, is everyone present?", Drew said as he looked around the conference room, mentally counting the heads. Ordinarily, this was little used; it had only been used twice in the six-and-a-half months since the missions had started. "I think so", Yolanda said from the front row, as she looked around the room and saw everyone that had been asked for present; the deputy keepers and the heads of staff. " Thank you, Yolanda", Drew said under his breath before turning to the assembled, "Now then, what is the one thing we are constantly being reminded of? Especially by the Novum board"; Drew put the same emphasis on the last two words as most people would on "cockroach". "That we could die at any moment?", Jack asked from the front row.

Drew muttered "No."

Yolanda shouted another question, "Doing a Sweeney Todd quote whilst holding the scalpels is considered very unprofessional?"

Drew breathed out, "No."

Bethany Williams, one of the vets, shouted a third question, "The surgical glove bin in the vet offices is just for the gloves, not for anything else?"

Drew, yelled "No! We are going to be open to the public someday. The Novum board confirmed it today; the inspection went successfully and we need to get ready for it." He looked around the room, exasperated; how was he going to get this lot to take the mission seriously? Everyone finally realized what he said and nodded in confirmation that they understood; this was a big deal. "Ok, now the people are going to need something to entertain them. Does anyone have any ideas?" He waited and saw someone raise their hand. "Yes, Hugo?", Drew turned to look at Hugo Adams, one of the amphibian keepers. Hugo said, "How about some behind the scenes stuff? I mean I'm pretty sure people would love to see how the park was made."

Drew nodded; he'd heard Jack talking about an idea with some of the other staff members a few days ago. "There were a few people talking about writing a book about our history that we'll sell in the gift shops. We need something that everyone will enjoy." Drew looked up at the clock and saw what time it was; time to get ready for the mission. "OK, I need to get ready for the mission and it's feeding time, so everyone go back to your normal duties and report back to Kyle if you have any ideas to go with the ones the board have sent. I'll have a look at them when I get back. Jack, you're coming with me.."

(Intro theme)

"So this is a time when Antarctica was tropical. Thank god, at least it won't be an awful place. And we won't need cold-weather gear, which is a massive plus, I presume." Jack asked Drew as they got set up for their final Paleozoic mission. Drew nodded, "Yes. 248 million years ago, the poles didn't have ice caps. The world was also much hotter than it is today; Pangea was still intact, by the way and the centre was largely desert.", Drew replied.

Jack shrugged, "OK…. so what's the need for such a big enclosure? I mean, I read the info-packs and what we're going after is only pig-sized."

Drew smirked at him. "Because I want to rescue a large herd of our targets, Lystrosaurus. It was the most common terrestrial vertebrate of the Early Triassic, populating every continent with huge numbers; for a while, 95% of all terrestrial vertebrates on Earth were this species. They also pulled through the Great Dying, which is why they are our final targets for this phase." Jack nodded in understanding. "So how big were they compared to the Edaphosaurs?"

Drew shook his hand , "Smaller. But, since the herds were larger, at least at certain times of the year, they'd need to eat more." Drew then grabbed his remote and got ready. "Welp, let's get going." He said as the two of them walked out, unaware someone was watching them.

Once the portal was activated and they walked through, it seemed like this was an easy mission. They landed right in the middle of a lystrosaurus herd. They were strange looking creatures; grey, bristly creatures that looked like a cross between a pig, a lizard and a turtle. Their most notable features were two small tusks on the front of its face. There was a vague resemblance to the Diictodons back at the park. "Well, we didn't find them, fearless leader; we walked into them. I knew they were abundant, but to find them this quick...", Jack said.

"Hold your horses, Jack. Y'see, I forgot to mention another target of ours." Drew said as he pulled out a picture of a small creature, which looked like a cross between an iguana and a monitor lizard. "This is Euparkeria, one of the most important reptiles of the time."

"That's the one that's the ancestor of all the dinosaurs, isn't it?", Jack said. "Yes." Drew replied, "This little insectivore is the ancestor of all the dinosaurs to come. From tyrannosaurus to diplodocus, they all came from this little guy." "Well, let's just hope we can find a few. I mean, lizards are pretty common today, so it should be easy." Jack said as they began walking into the forest. "I hope so too. Fingers crossed." Drew replied.

At the park, while the animals ate, Kyle looked over ideas that the marketing department had sent them, as well as ideas that had been pitched by the keepers. Dinosaur rides were high on the list, as well as animal feeding shows, but that was completely obvious; the board was looking for the mighty dollar as usual. Other ideas on the list included a river tour of the Carboniferous house (an artificial river would have to be dug in first for that to happen) and an auditorium show about the origin of Earth. The keepers had proposed some interesting ideas. A keeper had proposed "Animal Encounters", featuring some of the park's more docile animals. All this time, Kyle was looking through the list, ticking or crossing ideas that he, personally, liked or didn't like. Of course, he had to wait for Drew and Jack to get back before these could be decided.

Back in the Triassic, Drew and Jack found four small lizard-like creatures chasing dragonflies. They were green, with bands of black and yellow scales running down their backs and sides. One, in order to catch the insect it had been pursuing, stood up on its hind legs and jumped, catching it in its mouth. "I'm assuming that's a Euparkeria?" Jack asked.

"Yes. They have specialised hip bones, which allow them to stand on their hind legs with great agility when necessary." Drew said, pointing his net gun at the lizards. However, before he could fire, a loud noise echoed through the clearing, the sound of the net gun going off, and a net captured all four of the tiny reptiles. Drew turned to Jack, confused, "Did mine just backfire?" Jack shrugged, "Eh. Premature discharge. Happens to us all, fearless leader."

Drew thought about it for a minute but shrugged it off and picked up the net containing the little reptiles to observe what they were like up close. Jack remarked, "You can definitely see the family resemblance up close. They look almost like little dinosaurs on their hind legs.", before Drew placed the net in the portal, sending the four reptiles to the present. Whilst he was doing this, Jack looked around and saw someone running away. It looked like a human, but he couldn't tell who; it looked awfully familiar… Before Jack had time to think any further, a rumbling sound was heard. They both ran back to the herd and saw them all leaving. Some great migration was about to begin.

To be continued


	30. Life and Death Promised Part 2

Part 2

When both of them returned to where the herd was, they saw them all in motion, moving as if a single, unified entity. "I'm guessing this is some sort of migration?" Jack asked. "Probably", Drew stated. Jack and Drew, after a brief discussion, began to follow the herd.

Interactions between the creatures were not harmonious; individuals would occasionally snap at either each other when one got too close. These great caravans were only due to the annual migration; most of the time, the lystrosaurus lived in smaller groups of about 20 or so, only coalescing during the annual migration. Jack and Drew, watching the herd, realised that it was unknown when they were going to stop stop, so they decided to continue and rescue whatever they would encounter on the way. With a herd this large, predators would be attracted. Thanks to their greater speed, Drew and Jack were able to get ahead of the herd and went into a canyon that they had calculated that the herd would have to pass through. Still, however, by the time they got there it was already night. "I'm going to assume the herd won't be here until early morning so, wake up early, just in case", Drew said before going inside his tent.

"Got it, fearless leader." Jack said before preparing to enter his own tent. But before he did, he heard the sound of rocks crunching on the ground. That feeling in the forest clearing paid off, someone was following them. He looked behind the canyon, to the approximate origin of the sound, and saw someone running away. Jack ran after the person and was soon able to catch up, cornering him against a rock wall. Jack looked at the man and saw who it was. His eyes widened in disbelief, "You?!"

Back at the park, the rest of the rescue team were coming up with attraction ideas of their own. "Maybe we could teach some of the animals tricks or something. Like a sealion or parrot show or something.", Cynthia suggested, in response to which Adrian shook his head. "No, this is a wildlife preserve, not a circus", he said sternly. Cynthia said, enigmatically, "I'm just going by what people might want to see".

Alice gave a thoughtful look, "I think that, maybe, we should have a way for people to interact with the animals more", Alice said", Like a feed and touch attraction." Cynthia gave her a perplexed look, "What, like a petting zoo?" Alice shook her head, and said"No, not a petting zoo. A zoo I was at before I came to Novum did giraffe feedings; guests could buy a piece of lettuce and feed it to the giraffes. We could do the same for some of the less dangerous animals." "Like the one at San Diego?" Adrian asked. Alice nodded in confirmation. Adrian nodded, "That could work. But we'd need something else. Think, why would people come here?"

Cynthia gave them both a look, "So they can see live dinosaurs. Why not just use a jeep like Jurassic Park?" In response to this, Alice stated, "We'd need a way for them to get to the enclosures without disrupting the other animals. Unless…." "The jeep went through one enclosure", Adrian finished, "However, they'd only see a few species…" Cynthia said in response, "Not if all the plant-eating dinosuars were in together…" At that moment, their eyes widened in realisation; they'd got it.

Back in the Triassic, Jack looked, dumbfounded , at the person who had been following them. It was Leon. "Hello, Jack", Leon said simply. Jack looked, flabbergasted at him, "Leon, what are you doing here?" Leon looked around furtively, "Waiting." Jack recovered his composure, and said, confused, "For what?" Leon smiled, "A moment of redemption obviously. I mean, as you guessed, I caught the Euparkeria in the clearing, but I need more to get back on the team", he explained. Jack gave him an expression of shock, "So, let me get this straight… your plan is to wait for us to be in danger and save the day?" Leon smiled, "Yeah. Genius, right?"

Jack looked at him, dumbfounded. "Leon, that is the dumbest idea I've ever heard; if you wanted to help, you could have asked. I'm sure we would have let you. " Jack then grabbed Leon's hand and pulled him over to where Drew was standing, "Just reveal that you're here and help us out. That should be enough to give you a chance".

Meanwhile, Drew awoke to the sound of rocks falling. It took him a few moments to realise that something was watching them. Grabbing his flashlight, he went outside and saw Jack pulling in Leon to the camp. He looked, surprised, at this sudden new development and, after a few moments, turned to Jack and asked "What's he doing here?"

Jack smiled at him, "He wanted to redeem himself, fearless leader. I feel like-" "Ssh." Drew suddenly said as he looked up. "What's wrong?" Jack asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. Drew signed up his flashlight, revealing about a dozen creatures in the darkness, each about the size of a medium-sized dog. They were remarkable looking creatures; like a cross between a dog and a monitor lizard. Each was dark brown, with patches of black spots all over their bodies; each had a different pattern. Their bodies were low-slung and vaguely canine, with short legs held under the body and covered in a layer of bristly hair. They ignored the three humans and stared at the distance, expectantly, as if waiting for something to arrive.

"Therocephalians." Leon said grimly. "They're most likely waiting for the migration; like crocodiles and wildebeestt. It's too dark to tell the exact species." The nearest therocephalian leapt down from the rocks and hissed at these interlopers. Its comrades soon joined it. "Don't let them bite you." Drew said. "They're venomous; and we don't know how potent it could be."

"OK guys, why don't you use your remotes?" Jack said, as the therocephalians advanced closer. "I never brought one." Leon said, sheepishly. "And mine's still in the tent." Drew said. "I need someone to distract them so I can go and get it."

Jack gave Drew a flabbergasted look, "What do you want us to do? Douse ourselves in steak sauce and dress as a chew toy?" "Maybe…", Drew replied before trying to sneak away.

Leon breathed out, "Well, if I die, I had a decent run." Before anyone could do anything, he suddenly ran away from Jack and Drew, causing the therocephalians to follow him. In the chaos, Drew quickly ran to the tent and grabbed his portal remote, causing the portal to whirr into life. Leon veered towards it. However, at the last second, Jack pulled him out of the way. All the therocephalians, unable to change their, ran through. After the last of them came through, Drew turned off the portal, looked at them and said. "Well, I think that's enough excitement for tonight."

To be continued


	31. Life and Death Promised Part 3

Part 3

The next morning the team woke up to see the Lystrosaurus herd already passing through the canyon. Thanks to the tight space they were processing in single file. "Hurry! We have to beat them to their grazing grounds!" Drew said as he grabbed his supplies, Jack and Leon not far behind. Eventually they managed to find where the herd were heading; a large river. However, the river was home to more predators waiting for the herd.

Hiding behind a rock, Drew took out his binoculars to observe the creatures better. Each was about ten feet long and looked like a cross between a crocodile and a Komodo dragon, with dark green, leathery skin. "Hmm, they look very similar to crocodiles. I believe they're a species of chasmatosaur, Proterosuchus most likely."

"So how do we bring them back?" Jack asked. "Try luring them with meat", Leon suggested. "They probably haven't eaten in a while. They're waiting for the herd. I just hope we have enough."

Stepping forward, the team wave the meat around and whistled to get the chasmatosaurs attention. Sadly, all they got were the attention of several more Euparkeria in the area. After transporting the lizard-like creatures through the portal. Drew addressed his team, "OK, we need a plan B; we're going to put the portal at the edge of the river and having the Lystrosaurus go through when they cross." "But that'd make luring the chasmatosaurs a bit harder..." Leon told him. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it.", Drew said as they tried to cross the river.

Soon, the Lystrosaurus herd, numbering about one hundred and thirty individuals, arrived at the scene. Many remembered what horrors await them in the water and were weary to cross, but the ledge could not contain them forever.

Thankfully for him, the first swimmer was ignored, the herd calmed down. Once the first one reached the shore, the portal activated and he was sent to Prehistoric Earth. This got the herd confused for a minute, but hunger and instincts won out, so they decided to resume their crossing. As more Lystrosaurus began to swim across, the Proterosuchus began to take out individuals one by one. As this happened, more and more kept on going through the portal.

At the park people watched in shock as over a hundred lystrosaurus came walking through. Both stared at the herd in silence, as the animals milled about in the holding pen, before someone said "Wow. That's a lot." Kyle facepalmed and rolled his eyes, "Of course. Of course they had to."

At the Triassic, the final members of the herd had travelled through the portal to the twenty first century. All that was left of the herd was about twenty dead bodies from those that the Proterosuchus had killed. Now came the tricky part. Drew fixed his glasses. "Alright gentlemen, let's end this phase. It's time to finish the Paleozoic." "Well, technically we're in the-", Leon said before Jack took him aside and whispered to him "Don't ruin the moment". "Shutting up", Leon muttered in response.

The moving of the Proterosuchus had to be done soon as another Lystrosaurus herd might soon approach the river. Using a grabbing tool, they each pulled about ten of the Lystrosaurus corpses towards them, the hungry archosaurs in pursuit, like dogs after a tennis ball. Soon the portal was activated and all three ran through.

Once they all made it back to Prehistoric Earth, they saw that at least three holding pens had Lystrosaurus in them. Two others had Euparkeria and the therocephalians in them. Looking behind them, they saw the chasmatosaurs entering the portal after the meat. They lugged the carcasses into the holding pens and the Proterosuchus all walked in and began to devour the corpses.

Soon the final creatures from Phase One were in their new homes. The Euparkeria had a small forest to clamber and hunt in. The therocephalians, which had been identified as Euchamberisa, were hiding in the shadows of their canyon home, waiting for sunset. The Proterosuchus were basking at the side of their new river home, waiting for their next meal. And the huge Lystrosaurus herd had an enclosure separated by a river, with one side being a small forest while the other was a field of small plants. Everyone else was currently standing in front of a huge area of land composed of forests, savannahs, rivers, even a lake complete with waterfall.

Drew was their holding a sign in one of his hands. Once they got back, Drew and Kyle discussed all the ideas involved. Some (like creature shows and a petting zoo) had been put on hold to see if any animals would be comfortable with the process. Others, like the river tour, would have to be moved somewhere else. But the one idea that was implemented instantaneously came up when the rest of his team showed up a presented him with the idea. There weren't any logical flaws with it; there was no reason why there shouldn't be a problem for animals of different time periods to live together, especially in a larger space. With all his strength Drew began to pound the sign into the ground. A sign reading "Mesozoic Safaris."

 **Next time a new chapter begins**

 **(A small reptile runs across a desert)**

 **As a new age begins**

 **(A small flying reptile cuts through the sky)**

 **(A serpentine sea reptile swims through the water)**

 **And new challenges arrive**

 **(A group of small dinosaurs hiss at a large reptile)**

 **All next time in the second season premiere of Prehistoric Earth: Degrees of Greatness**

Lystrosaurus: 107 (58 males, 49 females)

Euparkaria: 7 (4 males, 3 females)

Euchambersia: 12: (4 male, 8 female)

Proterosuchus: 23: (7 male, 16 female)


	32. Phase 2 Trailer

(shot of the earth rotating while a voice over says the theme of the series/ season)

Narrator: They were ready for the most dangerous creatures the past could throw at them.

(shot of the rescue team, posing and smiling)

"Bring them all back or die trying", that was the mantra.

(shot of Drew adjusting his glasses and looking at an injured sauropod)

Narrator: That was what was said, every time they plunged into danger. That was the catchphrase, almost.

(shot of Jack trying to control a plane in a thunderstorm)

(shot of Leon riding on the back of a large animal)

(Shot of Cynthia cracking her knuckles)

(shot of Adrian holding something in his hands and running)

(shot of Alice wiping sweat off her head)

Narrator: They'd got one epoch out of the way.

(montage showing Squishy, Grumpy, Howler, Murasame, Incursio and Pumpkin, Spiny, Rey, and the lystrosaurus herd)

Narrator: Little did they know… the hard part was about to begin…

(shot of a Coelophysis running across a desert)

Narrator: They are to enter a world of beauty, where giants walked the Earth…

(Shot of a diplodocus herd moving)

(Shot of an Ornithocheirus flying over a flock of smaller pterosaurs)

(Shot of two male torosaurus charging at each other locking horns)

(The team looks behind them before a Tyrannosaurus foot comes down)

Narrator: They will form unlikely bonds.

(Scenes of Drew bonding with Lightning and Zira, Leon bonding with the allosaurs and Jack bonding with Red)

Narrator: And face obstacles greater than any they've faced before…

(A pack of Giganotosaurus surrounds three members of the team and an injured sauropod)

(A pack of Allosaurus run across salt plains)

(A Liopluerodon emerges from the depths)

(Deinosuchus head raises from water)

(Two Albertosaurus walk towards a jeep)

(A Utahraptor screeches and leaps at the camera.)

(Cryptoclidus swim through water)

(Opthalmosaurus leaps out of water)

(Torosaurs lock horns)

(An Allosaurus leaps at a Stegosaurus)

(A Mei long attempts and fails to catch a microraptor)

(A group of baby diplodocus run from an allosaurus)

(Two velociraptors circle an Ornithocheirus, who screeches at them in response)

(A Sarcosuchus roars)

(Argentinosaurus rears up on its hind legs)

(A Pteranodon dodges the jaws of a tylosaurus)

(A herd of herbivorous dinosaurs roar at a T-rex)

Narrator: O, brave new world, that hath such creatures in it.

(Zoom out of two Tyrannosaurus roaring at each other, surrounded by fire, before charging head-on at each other)

(Cut to black)

(Shot of the Prehistoric Earth logo).


	33. Degrees of Greatness Part 1

Chapter 9: Degrees of Greatness

As the sun rose over the ocean, light began to shine over an island of the coast of Florida. This island was unlike any that have ever existed before. This was because, unknown to the majority of the world, this island was home to the world's only prehistoric animals. The sun had been almost like a wake-up call. As the park's keepers began their work, the animals began to start their day, almost activated by the first rays of light.

In the parks aquarium district, the parks first residents, the trilobite species Redilchia, swam throughout their small tank, peacefully grazing, whilst the tiny Haikouichthys were swarming around assorted fish guts that had been thrown out of their tanks. In a larger reef tank, Earth's first super predators, the shrimp-like Anomalocaris were feasting on fish guts that had been thrown into their tank by their keepers. The normally territorial animals had, after a few teething problems, come to an unsteady peace, but the keepers were still keeping an eye on them. In a larger tank, the larger trilobite Istoleus and the armoured primitive fish Astraspis were filtering food from the detritus at the bottom of their tanks. In another tank, the shoal of Cephalaspis were grazing algae that had been thrown in their tanks. Meanwhile, in the largest tank, the squid like Cameroceras were lurking in the abyss, only surfacing to feed on the chum that has been thrown in their tank.

In another building, the park's sea scorpion species were being fed. The partially terrestrial Brontoscorpio were coming out onto land to eat, whilst the more aquatic Megalograptus had their food put at the bottom of their tank, with a male, who the keepers had dubbed Grumpy, taking his portion to eat in a secluded grotto at the bottom of the tank. The largest of them, Pterygotus, were actually a lot more docile than their smaller, more aggressive relatives and rarely attacked the handlers.

The final building in the aquarium held the Devonian animals. The amphibians known as Hynerpeton were giving off a morning chorus, while the large Hyneria swam around their tank, waiting for their breakfast. In a saltwater tank, the placoderms Bothrioelpis were grazing algae off the rocks on their tanks. In an incomplete underwater tunnel dedicated to sharks, the Stehcanthus swam around in their tanks waiting to be fed. In one huge tank in the Hell's Oceans exhibit, the giant armoured fish Dunkleosteus were currently being fed a large amount of chum, each keeping to its own end of the tank.

In another building, an increased amount of oxygen allowed the giant insects of the Carboniferous to call it home. The giant dragonflies Meganeura flew all across the building (except for some of the predator exhibits), while animals like the scorpion Pulmonoscorpius retreated into the logs they called home until they would be fed. The large spiders Mesothelus were waiting in their burrows for whatever food they would be given. The large Arthropleura began their morning by grazing in the plants in their enclosure and the small reptiles Petrolacosaurus were scurrying all around their enclosure. In the pool, the two giant amphibian species were beginning their day; the Proterogyrinus were bellowing at each other, whilst in a deeper pond, the fish-like Crassigyrinus were swimming around, waiting to be fed.

In another section called Permian Plains, the reptiles and amphibians had all risen shorlty after sunrise and were beginning their day. A huge herd of Edaphosaurus began grazing on the plants in their enclosure, slow due to the early morning chill. Meanwhile, the primitive amphibians Seymouria were feeding off the meat they were given. As for the top predators, the baby dimetrodons were play fighting while the adults simply laid around, waiting for the air to warm up so they could start moving. In another section of the area, several diictodon popped their heads out of their holes, waiting for the keeper who would bring their food to arrive. In a large pool, the giant amphibian Rhinesuchus swam around. In a large paddock, the herbivorous Scutosaurus were browsing on plants in their enclosure and, in the last paddock, the Gorgonops, significantly more active than the others due to their faster metabolism, were drinking from their watering hole.

And in the final part of the park known as Triassic Shack, the park's newest residents were enjoying their new home. The Eucambersia had shrunk into their caves for the day, waiting till evening (or the day's first feeding time) to come out and the crocodile-like Proterosuchus were basking in the morning sun until they could warm up, whilst the Euparkeria, more active than the others, hunted for insects in their enclosure. The large lystrosaurus herd were currently occupied in eating the plants in their enclosure.

As many keepers worked to keep the animals under their care happy, the park's leader was trying to figure out his next move. Drew Luczynski was sitting in his office, pondering his next plans. The past seven months had been interesting ones.

The island was owned by a company called Novum. In fact, the very fact Drew was here is because he had impressed Theodore Richardson, Novum's fantastically wealthy and cherishably eccentric founder and CEO. Theodore had sent him an email merely consisting of a promise of "life-changing events". It was at a now-infamous meeting that the true purpose had been revealed; 99.9% of species that have ever existed were extinct. Many amazing animals that time had chose to leave behind. Theodore had pondered, however; what if we could bring them back? What if extinction never had to be forever? Theodore spent many years in secret building a machine that could make it possible. Against impossible odds, he had succeeded; the time portal was born. Drew had been posted to an island off the coast of Florida, with a small staff who had almost all been transferred from some part of the company; Theodore had hand picked all… the vast majority of them.

And so, it began; seven months of adventure to many different times, many new arrivals (both human and animal), some pleasure and many headaches (both from the animals and from the staff). He'd been trapped in a shark cage at the mercy of a giant armoured fish, whilst two of his crew were arguing. He'd withstood a sandstorm in the Late Permian. He'd ridden on the end of the shell of Earth's first giant creature.

What would this next phase bring?

Drew turned to see a man with raven black hair and brown eyes, who was lightly tanned and quite well muscled walk towards his office. Standing near him were a man with brown hair and eyes with Filipino skin with glasses and a tall woman with brown hair, hazel eyes and an average, slightly athletic build. Adrian Sky, Leon Gilbertson, and Alice Denham.

He, Adrian and Leon went back a long time; they 'd first met when they'd ended up partnered together in 8th grade biology, over 10 years ago. This initial encounter had led to a strong, enduring friendship; they'd changed over that period, change was, after all, the natural cause of life, but they were still very close friends and they trusted each other a lot. Drew had convinced Theodore to hire Leon and Adrian for the project alongside him. Alice, along with her younger brother, Jack, had been an animal handler on Novum projects before the opportunity for PE came up; they, tempted by the prospect of "new frontiers" (as well as the considerable paycheck), they'd taken the job.

Alice turned to look at Adrian, "He called you over, too?", to which Adrian nodded. Leon said, more to himself than anyone else, "Yeah, you said it was a mission for just the two of us. Wonder what it is." They all saw Drew looking at two different maps. He turned to see the arrival of his team and smiled, "Oh, you're here. Good."

"Boss, what's the reason for two separate missions?" Alice asked him, somewhat bluntly.

Drew gave a smile, "It's mainly so we can rescue two groups of reptiles. Alice, you and Leon will go to Switzerland and rescue the first marine reptiles, while Adrian and I will go to Arizona 220 MYA and rescue one of the first dinosaurs Coelophysis." "If I remember correctly, at that time, the land was plagued by seasonal droughts; the climactic changes led to the Triassic extinction event.", Leon told Drew.

"Exactly, which is why we may have to save the animals there from dehydration." Alice nodded in agreement; she had first-hand experience of this. On a mission to Late Permian Siberia, they had rescued a severely dehydrated female Gorgonops, who she had dubbed Rey (after the Star Wars character). She calmly hoped that there wouldn't be a repeat of this. A little while later, everyone was at the portal. The portal was calibrated, it opened and the Ancient Mariner sailed through. Sometime later (after the portal had been moved to the holding pens), it opened and Drew and Adrian stepped through into the beginning of the dinosaurs' reign.

To be continued.


	34. Degrees of Greatness Part 2

Part 2:

After the blinding light from the portal dimmed down, the first thing that hit the two adventurers was the heat; other eras had been hot, but this was almost oppressive. They looked around and saw a vast expanse of sand, stretching for miles. Unlike the Permian, the ground was dotted by the occasional dead araucaria tree. The sky was cloudless and the ground superheated by the glare of a pitiless sun. The skull of a large tusked animal, like the Lystrosaurus, that had perished in the drought lay before them, with a whip scorpion crawling in its eye socket. "So this is the Triassic?", Adrian asked, looking around at the desolate landscape before them. Drew looked around, almost awestruck at the barrenness of the landscape, "Yeah. Nothing but sand and blistering hot sun for as far as the eye can see. Doesn't help that this is the dry season."

After a while, they managed to find a small river. Well, "river" was an operative term; it had dried out so much it was barely a puddle, sustaining a small growth of drought-resistant plants. However, surprisingly, it seemed that some of the smaller species were taking advantage of this resource.

About twenty small pterosaurs were either drinking or bathing from the puddle; they were covered in dark-brown fur, with a lighter underbelly. They had a surprisingly deep head, large and powerful clawed wings, comparatively small hind limbs and a long tail. " Peteinosaurus ", Drew identified, "One of the first pterosaurs. It's a perfect first rescue for this phase; let's start small for now. Something easy for Kyle and Nikolai." Silently, Drew crept up upon the pterosaurs and activated the portal, which the pterosaurs stared stupefied at, until, moving like a single entity, they all flew through the portal.

Drew's pronouncement of "something easy" couldn't have been more wrong. As they flew through the portal, they flew out of the holding pens and scattered all over the park. Kyle and Nikolai watched, dumbfounded as the pterosaurs scattered. There was only one keeper on duty at the holding pen; Cynthia had been hanging around a few minutes ago, but had gone on some sort of "business". "I thought I told him to wait on pterosaurs until we'd converted some of the holding pens into aviaries. He never listens to us.", Kyle said angrily, his eye twitching. "I don't think he didn't listen… strange." Kyle turned to look at him, curiously, "What?". Nikolai turned to look at him, "It appears your message was never sent; there must have been some sort of malfunction.", Nikolai said as he looked at the communicator, to which Kyle let out an aggrieved groan; of course it wouldn't have done. Things never went the way they were supposed to at Prehistoric Earth. Resigning himself to his fate, he said "Come on Koli, we've got the next few hours cut out for us; we have to go and round them up." Ignoring his hated nickname, Nikolai said. "May I suggest an alternate plan? I think luring them in with bait and then capturing them all as a group would be a better plan."

"They scattered off in all directions; they could be anywhere!", Kyle emphasised. "We can't lure them; we don't even know where they all are! We need to track them down." Nikolai gave him a perplexed look, "Exactly, they scattered; tracking them all down individually would take hours. I suggest that we use some bait to lure them all out into the open; it would be easier to catch them then. Your plan wastes time and makes us look ridiculous." The keeper at the portal looked awkwardly away. Tensions between Kyle and Nikolai had been running high for quite some time; it seemed that they were incapable of agreeing with each other.

A few million years before Drew and Adrian, the Ancient Mariner arrived on the coast of Triassic-era Switzerland. Alice looked out of the window; they'd landed in a bay. The sea was calm, the tide was low and the waves lapped gently on a nearby beach; she could see the indistinct forms of dinosaurs prowling the shoreline. There was no sound, aside from the lapping of the waves and the harsh calls of a distant pterosaur. It looked, for all in the world, like a beach in the Mediterranean; far from what it would look like over 200 million years in the future. It was a tranquil image of peace and serenity; Alice stared out and sighed at the beautiful vista before her. Meanwhile, Leon turned on the radar and began looking for any signs of life in the waters below. "So how many reptiles should we rescue?", Alice asked.

Leon put a finger to his chin in thought, "Let's see how many we find and then we'll decide." That was all he could say; Drew had left him in charge, supposedly. He knew only one thing; he was going to find that difficult, given that many people still thought he was a walking textbook, only hired because he was Drew's friend. Nodding in agreement, Alice steered the boat into deeper water to find more creatures; that was where all the ones they were looking for would probably be. Their first sighting didn't take long. Through their binoculars, they saw something lying on the rocks like a reptilian seal. It had dark green, leathery skin, a long neck and a crocodilian head, with a series of interlocking teeth, and webbed feet. Leon grabbed his binoculars to take a look. "Nothosaurus; one of the first sea reptiles", he told Alice. "Largely a fish-eater; not too dangerous, but it shouldn't be taken too lightly."

Alice nodded in affirmative, saying "I'll go in the water while you supervise from up here." She turned on her heels and headed off to put on her diving suit. Leon shrugged and looked out to the sea, and said, "Alright, I'll tell you if I can find any more."

To be continued


	35. Degrees of Greatness Part 3

Back in Arizona, Drew and Adrian were currently looking for any more signs of animals in the desolate landscape; after the Peteinosaurus, they'd come up with nothing. They had decided to search for a watering hole; Drew had learnt in the Late Permian mission that watering holes were like candy stores to desert animals". "So... what kinds of dinosaurs should we expect to see?, Adrian asked.

"Nothing big; the biggest dinosaurs in this region maxed out at about 10 feet." Drew explained. "The dangers are the other reptiles at this time, that still technically ruled over the dinosaurs. However, they're nearing the end of their reign; the Earth will belong to the dinosaurs." "Amazing, isn't it? How temporary it all was; thirty million years separated the Permian and Triassic mass extinctions. That's not much in the big scheme of things", Adrian said.

Before Drew could reply, a small creature zoomed past them, with such a speed that it was, for all intents and purposes, a blur. "What the hell is that?", Adrian's voice yelled. Neither of them could tell; the creature was small and green from their best glimpses of it. However, it had moved so fast that they couldn't discern it. They followed the mysterious creature to a nearby river… well, "river" was an operative term; in fact, it was barely a stream, fringed by dead trees and bushes of dead low-growing ferns and only sustaining a small growth of drought-resistant plants., The creature was now standing still and they saw that it was a small dinosaur, about ten feet long. It stood bipedally on two large, muscular legs, whilst its arms were short and three-fingered. Its neck was long, and its head had a long, thin muzzle. Its body was counterbalanced by a long tail. Whilst it had yellow skin, a layer of green, hair-like feathers covered its back and tail, with a small crest of longer ones on its head. "Coelophysis." Drew said. "The most famous of all Triassic dinosaurs."

The Coelophysis stood, quietly and patiently, watching the fish swimming through the water, like a heron searching for prey. Suddenly, the coelophysis lunged forward and snatched a lungfish from the water with lightning speed, as the two explorers watched. The little carnivore, pinning the still-struggling lungfish down with one taloned foot as it began to feed on the carcass. Suddenly, the coelophysis stopped eating and went quiet, as if it had heard something. Drew and Adrian listened, as the sound of bellowing echoed into the distance. As the bellowing got louder, the Coelophysis, knowing what it meant, squawked indignantly and fled the scene, leaving the duo of explorers confused.

Drew and Adrian turned to see a large group of reptiles at the edge of the river, drinking from the patch of water. The animals were strange looking creatures; grey-and-brown, bristly creatures that looked like a cross between a pig, a lizard and a turtle. Their most notable features were two large tusks on the front of its face. There was a vague resemblance to the Lystrosaurus back at the park; although these were much larger. "Placerias." Drew said. "I'm guessing these are relatives of the Lystrosaurus?" Adrian asked.

"Yep, which makes them prime targets for rescue." Drew said. The herd was large, consisting of about twenty or thirty members; they had all came to the waterhole to have a drink of water. However, space at the almost-dried out river was limited; and they all started jostling against each other for space at the nearly-dried out stream. Drew pointed his remote and activated the portal. Once the portal was activated, the herd briefly stood, transfixed at this strange, shining light, before heading through the portal into the park, moving as if one single entity; once they had all gone through, Drew de-activated the portal. However, one had been left behind, too focused on the water to notice the shining orb. As it confusedly looked around the lake for where the others had gone, the fern layer around the lake began to move and a large entity leapt from the bushes.

Back at the park, Nikolai and Kyle, after having agreed upon a plan (catch them using baited net traps at several points) had managed to capture pretty much all the Peteinosaurus. Since the aviary was not yet finished, the escapologist pterosaurs had been put in pet carriers until the aviary could be finished. "So how many did you catch?", Kyle exasperatedly asked. "I got 10", Nikolai responded, to which Kyle replied, "Same."

A voice sarcastically noted, "Well, there's one more left, if you want your competition to not end in a tie". They turned to see Cynthia walking towards them with a laptop, a smug expression on her face. "Where were you?", an angered Kyle asked, "You were supposed to be helping convert some of the holding pens, so they could hold flying creatures".

She rolled her eyes and replied, "I had to help out with feeding, and then I forgot about the pen. Sue me. Anyway, I think you guys might want to see this." As she said this, she flipped the laptop over; it showed footage from the security cameras. The footage showed a Peteinosaurus feeding on a crane… right above the Dunkleosteus tank.

Meanwhile in Switzerland, Alice had just dove into the water to catch some Nothosaurus. For this, she had taken a cattle prod with her, in order to keep the reptiles from getting too close for comfort. It didn't take long for some to appear, most likely curious of the new creature. Up close, Alice could see details that she hadn't been able to discern before. Their skin was greenish-brown and leathery, and they had a long neck and a crocodilian head, with long jaws equipped with sharp interlocking teeth (some in the form of paired fangs). Their feet were halfway to becoming flippers, webbed, with five toes, and they had a long flattened tail; adaptations to aquatic life. It seemed that the nothosaurs had instantly noticed the cattle prod she had and approached with caution, not wanting to be on the receiving end of what (to them) was a large, extendable claw.

The Nothosaurs may have looked reptilian, but they had the playfulness and inquisitive nature of sea lions. They were swimming close, but keeping their distance; some of them allowed themselves to be petted, curious at this new creature. When the time came to use the portal, Alice turned it on. They briefly stared, transfixed at this strange, shining orb, before heading through the portal into the park. Once they had all gone through, Alice noticed something in the reefs. She activated the communicator in the diving suit and asked, "Leon, are there any other animals in the area?" Leon looked at the radar and responded. "A few larger animals are showing up on the radar right next to you; I can't tell anything else. Tell me what you see."

Alice nodded and went to see what was over the coral. What she saw was several large lizard-like creatures searching for food in the reef. Their main diagnostic feature was their incredibly long necks; it took up over half the length of their body. Each had dark green backs, with tan underbellies, brown limbs and a long, striped tail. As Alice described them to him, Leon thought for a bit before hitting on a possible match. "Tanystropheus", he told her, "They were probably a bit more sedentary than the Nothosaurus."

Sure enough, the large lizards had no interest in Alice whatsoever, which made luring them through the portal a lot harder. Without other options, Alice got the bait bag and began emptying it into the water near the portal, which caused them to follow it, heading through into the present. All was going well… However, when the last one was about to go through, its tail was grabbed by an unseen predator. A brief struggle ensued, with the large marine reptile struggling with all its might to get free, ending when the Tanystropheus eventually pulled itself forward through the portal, with the tail being severed in the process, clouding the water in the immediate radius with blood. Alice looked around confusedly for any sign of the creature responsible, but, once the blood cleared, Alice could get a good view of it. Her eyes widened, "Oh crap".


	36. Degrees of Greatness Part 4

The blood from the Tanystropheus' tail clouded the water like a red smokescreen, reducing visibility to zero. All Alice could see of the attacker was a large, vaguely serpentine silhouette. Then the water cleared and Alice was face to face with the attacker. It was a reptile some thirty feet long, with a sandy brown colouration. It had a vaguely crocodilian, with pointed, tooth-filled jaws. Its limbs were large flippers, with the ones at the front being larger than the back, and a fluked tail. Its body was long and vaguely serpentine. It stared at her with an expression of cold indifference, the Tanystropheus' tail still hanging in its mouth. The creature moved with a sinuous grace, its tail propelling its whole body. "Ummm, Leon?", Alice asked nervously.

Leon scrutinised the radar and his eyes widened, "From what I can see, the animal's about thirty feet long. There's only one animal in the area that's that large; Cymbospondylus." The Cymbospondylus began swallowing the tail and gave Alice a look of cold interest as it advanced sinuously through the water. "How dangerous are they?", Alice asked.

"Very dangerous. And there are others heading towards you", Leon said and, sure enough, several more were advancing towards her from all directions, "If you have anything to defend yourself with, now would be a great time to pull it out." As he said this, Alice searched through the dive bag, before pulling out her cattle prod; it was the only thing that she could use to defend herself against these things. If she used it right, she should be able to lure them into the portal without having to injure them much.

The ichthyosaurs, moving closer to Alice, started to snap at her in aggressive curiosity, but she responded by moving her cattle rod. The shock from the stick didn't seem to hurt the reptiles much, but it was enough to deter them; at least for a while. However, a while was all she needed. Just until she got the portal ready…

Eventually, the Cymbospondylus began to ignore the deterrent and moved closer and closer towards Alice, surrounding her. As the nearest advanced sinuously towards her, Alice reached for the remote. When it was mere feet away from her, she activated the portal, which it swam through. The Cymbospondylus stared, transfixed at this shining orb, before, one by one, they began to follow their comrade through, into the present. Once they had all gone through, she noticed the Ancient Mariner moving above her, waiting to pick her up. She swam up to the surface, climbed back on board, changed out of her diving suit and met with Leon. Leon turned to her and said, "I think that's enough animals, wouldn't you say?" Alice nodded in agreement. She had enough marine animals for one day.

Back in Arizona, the Placerias gave out a roar of pain as an unseen predator burst from the bushes and grabbed its leg. The Placerias bucked and struggled as the predator pulled at its flesh. Eventually it broke free, but with the cost of a gaping wound torn into its back leg. As the Placerias staggered away, the carnivore began to emerge from the bushes in order to pursue its target.

Drew and Adrian backed away the minute the carnivore showed its head. It looked like a cross between a crocodile and a T-rex and, from head to tail, it must have been some twenty feet long. Its legs were long and tucked under its body, with its front legs smaller than its back ones and it had armour plates along its back. The body was counterbalanced by a long tail. Its scales were crimson along in its back, gradating to a paler red on its flanks. It looked an intimidating sight. "I'm assuming that's the top predator of these parts.", Adrian said, careful not to attract its attention. "Postosuchus", Drew said and nodded as they continued watching the hunt.

As the Placerias shambled away, its leg wound slowing it down, it began to slow down with every step it took, due to the shock and blood loss from the attack. The faster Postosuchus was easily keeping pace with the injured animal, sometimes on all fours and sometimes just on its hind legs, stalking it and waiting for it to collapse. Eventually, the Placerias collapsed on the ground and the Postosuchus, with a brief hiss of triumph, went in to finish the job. Briefly assuming a two-legged stance, it raised its arm, equipped with a large curving claw, and slashed open the Placerias' underbelly. Intestines snaked out like fat sausages and the Postosuchus began to feed.

Drew and Adrian knew this was all a part of life; predation was what came naturally. Neither of them were squeamish, but the sight was still unpleasant to see. "I think we should leave", Adrian whispered, "I doubt we'll be able to lure it at the moment." Drew nodded in agreement and the two went off, quietly as if not to anger the big predator.

Walking away from the lake, the sound of a low squawk alerted them to a commotion coming from a clearing. They crept in to see a small group of dinosaurs, of all ages and sizes, standing in a clearing. The first thing Drew and Adrian could confirm is that these were not Coelophysis.

Like the Coelophysis, they stood bipedally on two large, muscular legs, whilst their arms were short and three-fingered. Their necks were long, and their heads, deeper than the Coelophysis, had a short, rounded pair of crests . Their bodies were counterbalanced by a long tail. They were also much larger; the largest was about fifteen feet long. They were covered in sandy brown feathers, with black stripes along their sides and a small tuft of red feathers on their heads. Drew knew what they were immediately, "These are Liliensternus. Surprising to find them here; I thought they were only found in Europe… I can only guess that, since all the continents are joined together, they're visitors."

Drew and Adrian soon noticed that two individuals in the group of carnivores were currently looking at a burrow. One started to get close and begin digging; it was clear that, since the entrance had already been exposed, they had been doing this for quite some time. As the Lilliensternus stuck its head in the burrow, something burst from the hole and let out a low growl. The theropods recoiled in surprise as a bristly creature about the size of a medium-sized dog emerged from the burrow and let out a low bark at them. There was a vague resemblance between it and the Euchambersia back at the park; only this was much smaller. "That's a species of Cynodont, like the Euchambersia", Drew said. Adrian turned to Drew and said, "The cynodonts are the ancestors of the mammals, right?", to which Drew nodded. A second cynodont joined the first at the entrance and joined it in snapping at the dinosaurs. Eventually, the dinosaurs stalked off at this display of resistance, disappearing into the bushes. As they left, Adrian had to ask, "Why were they digging at the burrow so obsessively?" Adrian's question was soon answered, as three small, furless entities moved up to the entrance of the burrow, alongside their parents. "The burrow had young in it", Drew said, "For most predators at the time, a baby cynodont is a perfect-sized snack." Drew's point was made clear when a small group of coelophysis emerged into the clearing and surrounded the burrow like vultures. The nearest, with the speed of a striking cobra, grabbed a squealing pink morsel from the burrow and swallowed it whole.

To be continued


	37. Degrees of Greatness Part 5

A commotion had begun at the cynodont burrow. The adults had responded too late and one of the babies was dead; however, they were still barking and hissing at the Coelophysis that had grabbed it. Curiously, however, the Coelophysis appeared to be uncaring, stepping forward and back with an almost casual indifference at the barking cynodonts in front of it, dancing like a cobra to a pipe. Eventually, the coelophysis got too close and the adults chased it out.

However, this had been the opportunity they were looking for. The other two Coelophysis, with lightning speed, used the distraction to lunge at the remaining two babies, left defenceless at the burrow's entrance, successfully grabbing one and swallowing it whole. However, the decoy came running back, with the cynodont pair in hot pursuit. With lightning reflexes, the nearest Coelophysis lunged forward and ran off with the last pup in its jaws. The three dinosaurs retreated into the bushes. vicious brawl ensued, with the pup's squeal of pain being drowned out by the Coelophysis' hoarse squawks as they violently squabbled over their prize. The adults looked at the destroyed burrow; none of their babies had survived. For them it was a blow; their kind bore few young and, in an uncertain world, a high rate of survival was important. They would have to leave the burrow and find another one.

Thankfully they wouldn't have to go far. Drew grabbed the remote and aimed the portal right in front of the burrow. The cynodonts stared at the glowing orb, dumbfounded, and went to investigate it, going through the portal, into the present day. "Think they'll be alright?", Adrian asked. Drew nodded; they couldn't save the babies but, at least, the adults would have a new life in the present.

After that, the duo suddenly heard the sound of a roar. The source was in a clearing; they saw the Postosuchus from earlier roaring at another Postosuchus; a potential rival. The two giant creatures continued sizing each other up, using roaring, stamping and mock swipes in order to get the other to back down. Physical combat was a last resort; for any predator, a major injury was a death knell. "Why isn't she attacking?", Drew said as he tried to get a better look.

"I think I see the reason, buddy", Adrian said as he pointed to her leg, in which a large, gaping wound was eminent; it looked like the sort of wound that a Placerias tusk would inflict, "That looks like a tusk wound. Probably from a failed hunt."

The wound ended up being what defeated her. The Postosuchus backed off, surrendering her territory to the interloper. While the loser limped off, the male roared in celebration at his victory. Drew saw this as an opportunity and activated the portal. The male saw the bright light, staring mesmerised at it, and went towards it to investigate. After he slowly walked in, Drew and Adrian packed up and went after the female, but not before noticing the sky. Dark clouds were blocking out the sun, almost oppressively.

At the park, the Peteinosaurus was still perched on the crane over the Dunkleosteus tank, blissfully unaware of the danger that its current situation posed. Kyle and Nikolai looked at the small pterosaur whilst formulating a plan. Kyle suggested, "How about I lure it over while you jump it?". Nikolai gave him a look, "Jumping would be too risky; a better plan would be to net it." Nikolai pulled out a net, revealing he had one on hand. Kyle reluctantly conceded to this alteration.

With the plan set into action, Kyle put out some mealworms for the pterosaur to eat. The flying reptile, from the top of the gigantic crane, scented the new treat and flew down to investigate. The instant it had alighted on the ground, Nikolai readied the net and crept towards the pterosaur. Once he had got as close as he could, he threw the net over the pterosaur, using his own weight to prevent its escape. The pterosaur hissed and squawked indignantly at this sudden development before Nikolai put it in an animal carrier. At last they were all taken care of.

Kyle sighed before taking out his walkie-talkie. Once again, he'd been made to look like a chump; Nikolai's plan had worked. "OK, we're all good. The last Peteinosaurus has been caught; we're sending it over to you now.", he said over the intercom, trying to speak over the Peteinosaurus' harsh, indignant squawks.

Jack's voice on the other end replied, "Great news, boss. We need you guys over here 'cos we've got… about 3 more new species; and that's just from Late Triassic Arizona." Kyle sighed to himself. Would he ever win?

Meanwhile, the sky began to darken as the Postosuchus continued on limping along. She could easily notice the tiny dinosaurs eagerly following her around, waiting for her to weaken. Eventually her injury, septic and several days old, caused her to stumble and she collapsed on the ground. Her attempts to get up failed; applying weight to her injured leg was becoming very difficult. The Coelophysis sat in the bushes, crouched like gargoyles, looking at the crippled predator with eyes shining with anticipation. They weren't the only eager hunters at the scene; a group of Liliensternus walked out from the bushes and began to advance towards the dying predator, drool hanging off their bacteria-laden jaws. However, all the scavengers were hesitant; the Postosuchus was still powerful and her jaws could still tear any one of them apart.

Drew and Adrian watched the growing spectacle from the clearing; if they wanted to save the female, they needed to act quick. "There's too many to get through", Drew told Adrian, "We need a new plan. Any ideas?" Adrian thought for a bit before having an idea. "Can I suggest something? We should try scaring them off. It worked with the first Coelophysis."

Drew nodded, and the plan came into motion. Grabbing an air horn, he squeezed the button and a loud noise came out, startling all the dinosaurs. He repeated the process a few more times before the Coelophysis ran into the bushes. But the bigger Liliensternus did not retreat, instead roaring in anger at what they took as a challenge and charged towards Drew. He aimed the portal remote and the dinosaurs tore through the glowing red light, into the present.

With the dinosaurs gone, the duo turned back to the dying carnivore. "Well, I can say this; we can't pick her up", Adrian told him, "She's far too heavy." Drew nodded and said, "I agree. I'll call for some assistance. I'm positive Linda has something to move large animals." As he said this, Drew got out the communicator.

To be continued

What do you think?


	38. Degrees of Greatness Part 6

Part 6

At the park, Jack and Kyle had sent a Jeep back into the Triassic and transported the injured female Postosuchus to the veterinary station. Linda looked at her, as she lay anesthetized in the veterinary offices and muttered "Drew wasn't kidding. She's in a bad way". More loudly, she stated "Careful now everybody. We don't know how serious this could be". Linda donned a par of magnifying loupes and turned towards a tech standing near the magnifier, "Excuse me, can you move the lamp over so I can get a closer look?" The tech nodded, "Yes ma'am" and moved the device over; the female's body was illuminated in the glow, revealing the creature's gored hind leg. Linda looked through the loupes at the bite marks and said, "Hmm, OK, the wound's become infected and she's probably lost a lot of blood. A relatively clean cut from the bite. Should be easy enough to get cleaned up and treated". She looked over at one of the surgeons and said "Antibiotics?" The surgeon nodded, "Yes" and opened a drawer containing multiple antibiotics, "Which kind? Bird or crocodile?

Linda turned to him and said "Crocodile.". The surgeon handed her some crocodile antibiotics, and she gave the anesthetized archosaur the injection needed, "Alright, time to get to work". She turned to Yolanda and said, "Yolanda, pass me the swab will you?". Yolanda nodded and passed her boss the swab, to which Linda replied "Thank you", as she wiped the bite marks with it, before further cleaning the wounds. She then indicated a nearby vet tech and said "Alright, sutures please", to which the vet tech handed them over, "Alright, keep the light on me and the bite; this will require utmost care". Linda worked meticulously and carefully on stitching up the bite marks on the hind leg; after what seemed like an eternity, the operation was finally over. Linda breathed out "There, that should hopefully be enough", before nodding, "Alright everyone, good work. Let's get this big girl to one of the recovery pens"

The injured female Postosuchus had been put in one of the recovery pens in order to recuperate; she was, currently, asleep, exhausted from her operation. Work was already being done to separate her half of the enclosure from the male rescued earlier, who was being kept in the holding pens until the work was done. While this went on, Khatin watched the two reptiles with rapt interest.

Back in the Triassic, Drew and Adrian suddenly noticed something; huge grey clouds were beginning to gather in the sky, to the point that they blocked out the sun. They could glimpse distant lightning flashes in the distance. They looked at each other, confused, as the wind began to get stronger, breaking dried plants and unleashing a huge dust storm. Suddenly, several large raindrops began falling on the ground; the first signs of a torrential downpour. Within minutes, the dried-out lakebed was filling up again. The Coelophysis from earlier emerged from the dry bushes, and suddenly started running around, almost joyfully, while Drew and Adrian were forced to wait the storm out in a large, hollowed-out log.

After about an hour, the rain ceased and the little dinosaurs all started to gather by a small pond; the rains had returned, but what they brought back was very little. Seeing the flock needed more water, Drew pointed his remote and activated the portal. Once the portal was activated, the flock briefly stood, transfixed at this strange, shining light, before heading through the portal into the park, moving as if one single entity; once they had all gone through, Drew and Adrian went through.

After the drama of herding up the Coelophysis, the animals were all being moved into trucks as Drew went to turn off the portal. But before he could, a small head popped through. It was quickly followed by a large, greenish-brown body, with a white underbelly and yellowish stripes. The creature had an incredibly long neck, culminating in the narrow head. The body was counterbalanced by a long tail. The creature walked on its hind legs, holding its powerful, muscular arms, with powerful, grasping hands. The large dinosaur looked around a bit at its new surroundings, before giving a roar and ambling into the park. It was then followed by many more of its kind; some of them were over thirty feet long. "What are those?", Kyle asked in horror. Drew turned to him, a smirk on his face, "Plateosaurus. Prosauropods". as he watched the herd enter the holding pens, by knocking over the fences.

After a while, everyone was at home. The marine reptiles had been transferred to their new accommodation in the aquarium. It was decided that the Nothosaurus and Tanystropheus could share a tank, since they were both fish-eaters and unlikely to harm each other; they were either swimming around or basking on the rocks. The five Cymbospondylus had a gigantic exhibit to themselves, complete with reefs to make it feel like the Triassic sea. They were currently swimming around their new accomodation, waiting to be fed. The Cyndonts, a previously unknown species, had a home at Discovery Outpost and the two were currently digging themselves a new burrow to live in and, when the time came, raise their young. The Peteinosaurus were all put into a large aviary with a stream and many insects for them to eat. In Triassic Shack, the Placerias herd was having their evening drink from the lake in their enclosure, the Postosuchus female was convalescing while the male waited for dinner, and the duo of theropod species were setting up their new territories. Finally, the Plateosaurus herd had found a place in the valley for their home in the form of a water hole. As this was going, on, Drew was sat in his office looking over files of his next adventure. Both locations showed promise, but he couldn't pick one. Then he remembered the adventure that had just passed and had an idea.

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth, the team handles dinosaurs in the wet**

 **(Large plated dinosaurs drink from river)**

 **And dry seasons**

 **(Small theropods chase herd of sauropods)**

 **While the targets get bigger**

 **(Sauropods walk over camera)**

 **And badder**

 **(Theropod foot comes down)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: All Great And Precious Things!**

Animals rescued

Peteinosaurus zambellii: 21 (11 male, 10 female)

Placerias hesternus: 26 (13 male 13 female)

Arizonacynus colberti (1 male 1 female)

Postosuchus kirkpatricki: 2: 1 male 1 female

Liliensternus liliensterni: 7 (4 male 3 female)

Coelophysis bauri: 77 (30 male 47 female)

Plateosaurus engelhardti: 12 (6 male 6 female)

Nothosaurus mirabilis; 13 (7 male 6 female)

Tanystropheus ongobardicus: 16 (8 male 8 female)

Cymbospondylus natans: 5 (2 male 3 female)


	39. All Great And Precious Things Part 1

The female Allosaurus rested in the shade of a large, dead tree, taking refuge from the burning heat of the relentless sun. The sky was cloudless, intensifying the heat as it superheated the dried ground of the parchy plains. She sat in the tree's shade and panted; it was midday, and energy had to be reduced to prevent overheating.

It was the dry season and three months since any rain. During the dry season, food and water were scarce for all animals, including Allosaurus. The large herbivores she preyed on were clustered around a few, widely distributed watering holes, drawn to them by the need for both food and water; this drew predators to the same spots, leading to increased competition. She had resorted to scavenging in order to survive; feeding on the corpses of animals that had died due to lack of food and water. Suddenly, in the corner of her eyes, she saw a gleaming light. That was new. Three small figures emerged from the light before it disappeared. That was new, too. She'd better go investigate.

Drew Luczynski was sitting in his office, waiting. Standing or sitting near him were Leon Gilbertson, Adrian Sky and Jack and Alice Denham, all bored. Leon was calmly flipping through the journal, Jack was looking at the celling (for no discernible reason) and tapping his feet impatiently, Alice was looking at her watch, whilst Adrian was looking out of the window. Suddenly, a voice sarcastically noted, "Well, I'm glad to see you intended to go without me". They turned to see Cynthia walking towards them, a smug expression on her face. "Where were you?", an puzzled Jack asked, "You were supposed to be here five minutes ago". In response, she rolled her eyes and replied, "I had some business at the Coelophysis pen; that's why I was late. Sue me. Anyway, what are we going after?"

Drew looked at her suspiciously and cleared his throat, ""The Late Jurassic was the age of giants; it was the time where dinosaurs really got big," Drew explained, flicking through pages of the file. "The best fossils of the time have been found in a place in North America called the Morrison Formation, which happens to be one of the richest fossil sites in the world." He briefly paused and continued, "Theodore and I couldn't decide on which location we wanted to go to, Colorado or Wyoming, so we just picked both. For this mission, we are splitting the team; Cynthia and Leon are coming with me", he gestured to them, "to Wyoming, 155 million years ago, in the dry season. Whereas you three", he gestured to Jack, Alice and Adrian, "are going to Colorado, 152 million years ago, during the wet season". He then proceeded to hand them a small journal and a remote. "As you know, you use the journal to identify any animals you see and, of course, you have a portal remote. Anyway, I would love to stay and chat with you three but we have to prepare. Be careful and remember; no species left behind."

At the portal site, an employee entered the first time period and location and the portal flared to life at the push of a button. Shortly after, the portal opened again. Jack put the portal remote in his pocket and secured it. He turned to Alice, who both gave him a thumbs-up. Jack returned their gestures and smiled at them and they went through the gleaming portal.

Afterwards, it was the Wyoming team's turn. After the portal's location and time had been entered. Drew put the portal remote in his pocket and, after making sure the remote was secured , he turned to Leon and Cynthia, who nodded at him. He nodded in turn, and they entered through the portal.

After the blinding light from the portal dimmed down, the first thing that hit the three adventurers was the heat; other eras had been hot, but this was almost oppressive. They looked around and saw what had, evidently, once been a forest of cycads and conifer trees; however, pretty much all of the trees were leafless, denuded by the lack of water. The sky was cloudless and the ground superheated by the glare of a pitiless sun. Cynthia looked around, muttering "So where should we start?". "Look for a watering hole. Watering holes are like candy stores to animals in a drought", Leon replied. "OK, where's the nearest waterhole?", Cynthia asked, annoyed. Drew rolled his eyes and said, "Cool it, guys; arguing isn't going to solve anything." He breathed out. Sometimes, he wondered about the team he'd assembled.

In Colorado, conversely, the first thing that hit the team was the humidity. It was, somewhat paradoxically, a new experience; other eras had been hot, but none had been truly humid. They looked around to see where they had emerged and the sight was breath-taking. They had emerged in the centre of a dense forest, dominated by redwood trees, some so tall, they almost stretched into the sky and, underneath the trees, there was a dense blanket of ferns. In the air, they could hear the calls of pterosaurs and, in the undergrowth, they could hear the squeals and hisses of dinosaurs. The trio looked around, awestruck. This was unlike any time they had ever been to; this made even the most verdant of the previous landscapes they had visited look like a desolate wasteland. "It's beautiful", Alice said, almost lost for words at the beauty of their surroundings, "It's just so beautiful". Jack, overawed, said to Adrian and Alice, "When you signed up, was this what you were expecting?". In response to this, Alice nodded in affirmative and Adrian said, "Yeah"

Suddenly, a low squawk snapped them out of their reverie. They turned to see something standing on the fallen trunk of a tree. It was a theropod dinosaur, some ten feet long. There was a similarity in appearance to the Coelophysis back at the park; like them, it stood bipedally on two large, muscular legs, whilst its arms were short and ended in three-fingered hands, with its body being counterbalanced by a long tail. However, its neck was shorter than the Coelophysis and its muzzle was shorter and deeper. Its body was covered in downy black-and-white feather. On the back of the head and across the shoulders, the feathers were longer and narrower, forming quills. However, it was the head that was holding everyone's attention. On the throat, there were blue wattles and a fleshy crest adorned the snout, with blue markings around its eyes.

The dinosaur regarded them with a look of curiosity, before jumping nimbly from the tree trunk and landing gracefully on the ground. After it had landed, it sniffed the air uncertainly, and scampered past them into the undergrowth, barely regarding them as it walked past with a purpose visible from its stride. "Wonder where he's going?", Jack said, to which Adrian shrugged and said, "Let's follow him and see".

After a few minutes, they had tracked the Ornitholestes to a large clearing. The forest floor in the clearing was almost devoid of plants; a thick layer of mud almost blanketed the ground, only covered by a thin layer of redwood leaves. It was almost like a blotch on the verdant forest surrounding it. As they entered, they saw the Ornitholestes, lurking in the shadows, as if waiting for something.

Suddenly, in the middle of the patch, the thin layer of redwood leaves on the ground on top of the silt began to move. At first it was in only one tiny spot, but soon several other areas were twitching, as if something was trying to erupt from below the Earth, The Ornitholestes' eyes narrowed in cold anticipation and Jack, Alice and Adrian stared with bated breath.

To be continued.


	40. All Great And Precious Things Part 2

Part 2

Eventually, the needles on one spot parted and a head on the end of a thin neck parted the ground, stretched up for the first breath of clean air. Jack, Alice and Adrian let out a gasp; they knew what this was. This was a baby Diplodocus; hatched from an egg laid by the longest and most elegant of the sauropods.

However, this new life would soon be woefully cut short. The Ornitholestes, with lightning reflexes, darted towards the hapless creature. Jack, Alice and Adrian watched as its talons flicked out and grabbed the tiny sauropod by the head. With one powerful tug, it pulled the whole sauropodlet out of the ground. Jack, Alice and Adrian could see the baby sauropod in more detail. Even with its comparatively short neck and tail, it was already a metre long. Its dappled green and brown body was stained with egg membrane. However, its fight for survival was already over; the Ornitholestes swiftly killed it with a bite to the neck.

However, the hatchling's sacrifice had not been in vain. As the Ornitholestes eagerly ripped up its meal, other sauropodlets were unearthing themselves around the clearing. This glut was more than a dozen Ornitholestes could cope with; many sauropodlets would die, yes, but just enough would live.

As the hours wore on, several more Ornitholestes entered the clearing, to join in the slaughter. Many, many sauropodlets had died; however, Jack, Alice and Adrian noticed something unusual. After the first one or two, the Ornitholestes had ceased eating them; instead, they just killed them and left the bodies. "That doesn't make sense", Jack said, "They'll never be able to eat all the carcasses, so why do they just leave them there?". Adrian shrugged and said "Hunting practice, maybe?". Alice shook her head and said, "I don't think so. I've heard of something like this before; predators do this when they find themselves with a lot of easy prey that can't outrun them. When a predator's in "kill mode", it's gonna kill until it stops receiving distress signals from prey in its immediate vicinity, rather than stopping and thinking "alright, I got enough to eat with this one. It's like a fox in a henhouse; it'll kill all the hens, but it'll only eat one or two"." Jack commented, "Yeah, they're going to stay here until they get bored; perfect opportunity, wouldn't you think?".

The moving of the Ornitholestes had to be done quickly, before they got bored and left the area. Using a grabbing tool, they each pulled about ten of the sauropodlet corpses towards them. The theropods' gleeful slaughter was interrupted when they realised that someone was trying to take their meat. They dived towards the three humans, like dogs after a tennis ball. Alice activated the portal and the theropods all dived through, moving as if a single entity. After shutting it off, Jack turned to his compatriots and said "Well, that was easy! Let's go and see if we can find some other creatures. Let's see if we can find a river; animals are drawn to water.". Before they left, they turned and gave one last look on the clearing, which still had sauropodlets emerging from it; the immediate threat had been removed, but more predators would find the spawning ground, eventually. They left, the clearing behind them, as more sauropodlets tunnelled their way out into the world.

Meanwhile, in Wyoming, Drew, Cynthia and Leon had found a small pond; all that was left of what once had been a large lake. True to Leon's word, it had been a magnet for animals from miles around. The team hiked down the bluff and towards the small pond; a large pool with giant ferns and horsetails growing around the edge. A small herd of herbivorous dinosaurs stood, either browsing by the lakeside or drinking from the water.

The largest of the dinosaurs by the lake were some twenty-five feet long, with a huge bulky body and diamond-shaped, vertical armour plates along its back. The tail was tipped with dangerous-looking three-foot spikes. But the neck tapered to an absurdly small head with a placid gaze, like a very dumb horse. "Stegosaurus stenops," Leon said, "They're browsers; they use their beaks to crop ferns and those massive spikes were used as defence against predators." Cynthia pointed to the plates on their backs, "What's the function of the plates on their backs? Some sort of communication device?". Leon nodded, "Yes. It's thought that they would pump blood into those plates to serve as a threat display."

Two species of small ornithopod were browsing the stegosaurs down by the lake. The large ornithopods were about twelve feet long and quite robustly built. They were coloured a greenish-brown, with white patches on the belly, sides and tail, with downy feathers along their backs. The smaller ornithopods were much smaller, only about six feet in length. Like their larger cousins, they were fully bipedal, but they were more brightly coloured; leaf-green and white, with a bright blue head. They were scampering about, pecking at the ground next to the larger animals, feeding on their leftovers.

Leon knew what they were immediately, "The larger ornithopods are Dryosaurus. They're known to have a relationship with the stegosaurs of the area with them being lookouts while the others provide protection. Although they're shy, they have strong tails and legs, which could make for painful swings and devastating kicks. The smaller ones are Othnielosaurus, which we think would hang around giant dinosaurs for protection and act as sentries to alert them of predators. "

As the three humans approached the watering hole, however, the nearest stegosaur stamped its foot and bellowed at them. It was clear that they were not going to move any time soon. Drew and Cynthia stepped back; however, Leon moved forward, grabbed an air horn and began blaring it at the stegosaurs. The stegosaurs, their attention turned to the three humans, let out low, indignant bellows at them. Drew and Cynthia grabbed Leon and pulled him aside and Cynthia asked "What do you think you're doing?".

Leon smiled and said, "We make some noise and attract their attention; it's thought that, like rhinos, they had poor eyesight but a good sense of hearing and smell. When they move towards us, we open the portal." Drew nodded and said "Sounds like a plan". As Leon continued blaring, the stegosaurs became more and more angry, blood flushing through their plates, before they all came charging towards Leon. Drew quickly grabbed his portal remote, causing the portal to whirr into life. The stegosaurs all charged through the portal, into the present

The ornithopods looked around with a look of both nervousness and curiosity at where their gigantic protectors had gone. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Drew pointed his remote and activated the portal. Once the portal was activated, the dinosaurs all briefly stood, transfixed at this strange, shining light, before heading through the portal into the park, moving as if one single entity; once they had all gone through, Drew de-activated the portal.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Kyle and Nikolai had put the Ornitholestes, Stegosaurus, Dryosaurus and Othnielosaurus into holding pens; it had been difficult rounding the smaller animals up, but they had managed. They stood by the portal, waiting for what the teams would bring back next, when, suddenly, the nearby communicator flared into life. A voice screamed into the walkie-talkie, "Hello! Can anyone hear me? This is urgent!". Kyle picked up the communicator, and answered, "This is Kyle. What's the problem?". He recognised who the voice was; Hugo Adams, one of the keepers. Hugo said, in response, "Some of the Coelophysis have escaped! I don't know what happened-". "Start at the beginning, Hugo!", Kyle said, with Nikolai listening intently. "There was something wrong with the door; the lock must have failed! Apparently, it automatically shut off about two hours ago! We managed to close it off, but some of the Coelophysis managed to escape." "How many Coelophysis have escaped?", Kyle asked. Hugo's voice answered "About 30." Kyle's eye twitched in irritation; how come no-one had noticed this? Cynthia had been at the paddock around about the time the lock was supposed to have shut off; how come she didn't report it?

Nikolai, as if reading Kyle's mind, stated "There must have been some sort of malfunction with the electronic locks. Strange no-one noticed.", Nikolai said as he pondered the events, to which Kyle let out an aggrieved groan; of course no-one would have done. Things never went the way they were supposed to at Prehistoric Earth. Resigning himself to his fate, he said "Come on Koli, we've got the next few hours cut out for us; we have to go and round them up." Narrowing his eyes at his hated nickname, Nikolai said. "Yes; this time, however, we come up with a plan together." Kyle glared at him in response and said, "Fine. Any ideas?".

Meanwhile, back in Wyoming, the ground began to shake. Drew, Cynthia and Leon looked at each other in confusion as to what could be causing all the commotion. Drew grabbed his binoculars and looked to see an amazing sight. A large herd of gigantic, grey, long-necked reptiles were coming to the waterhole. He recognised them immediately; they were Apatosaurus, one of the greatest of Jurassic sauropods. He, Cynthia and Leon moved away from the watering hole as the giants approached. The gigantic herd began drinking from the watering hole and grazing from the horsetails and ferns. Some of the older individuals even began digging for water that may have been stored underground. Drew, Cynthia and Leon stared in awe at these magnificent animals; these gigantic dinosaurs made even the most impressive of the previous creatures they had previously encountered look tiny and ineffectual by comparison.

Suddenly, a large, dark shape moved stealthily through the denuded trees, and the entire herd of sauropods suddenly went on edge. It was moving so fast, it was practically a blur. The leader of the herd sniffed the air, and bellowed a loud, trumpeting call. Suddenly, the shape reappeared again, moving closer and closer to the herd. Drew could now get some better detail of it; it was some sort of large bipedal dinosaur, but it was moving so fast, no other features were discernible. Whatever it was, it was scaring the herd who, with a speed that belied their gigantic size, began stampeding. As the giant sauropods charged, they whipped up a flurry of dust that nearly blinded the nearby humans. "Hurry!", Drew, not wanting to miss the opportunity afforded by this, yelled to Cynthia and Leon, "Set up the portal!" The two others suddenly snapped out of their state of shock and began to set up the portal in the direction towards which the herd were stampeding. The entire herd charged through the portal, into the present.

The dust hung in the air for several moments after the herd had left, practically blinding the three adventurers. The team looked around, to see what was going on, as a low growl echoed through the scrub. They soon saw what had put the Apatosaurus herd on edge; a large carnivorous dinosaur was walking towards them, with no signs of stopping. As the theropod moved closer, the dust cleared, fully revealing it.


	41. All Great And Precious Things Part 3

Now, with the dust cleared, they could get a good look at the theropod that had caused the stampede. It was large, about thirty feet long, and was tannish brown in colour, with black stripes on its back and tail. It stood upright on two muscular back legs, counterbalanced by a long, thick tail. However, it was the head that held their attention; its most distinctive feature being the two large horns, one on each eyebrow. As it snarled in displeasure, a mouth full of jagged, double-edged teeth became visible. It stood for a few seconds, growled in displeasure, and stalked off. As the departing creature stalked off, Cynthia looked at Leon, "Was that… was that an Allosaurus?". Leon nodded, "Yeah; the lion of the Jurassic. A nightmare to most of the herbivores at the time". Cynthia turned to Drew and said, "So… what do we do now?" Drew breathed out and said, "We follow it. See where it's headed."

And, so, they hiked through the denuded forest, in pursuit of the giant theropod. For three hours, there were only fleeting glimpses of a sandy-brown, striped shape ghosting through the forest; however, after three hours, they got a good look at it in a forest clearing. However, before they could set up the portal, it had loped off into the forest, almost disappearing. Back to square one, then.

They continued following it, until, several hours later, the sun was setting and there was still no sight of the allosaur, Cynthia snarled, "Bollocks. The trail's run cold", before saying, rather more loudly, "Guys, the trail's run cold; we've lost it". Leon turned to Drew and said, "So, what do we do now?" Drew looked around and said, "It's getting dark. And I don't know about you, but I don't think it's going to be very safe being out here tonight. We've had a long day; I say we set up camp". Cynthia and Leon agreed.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Kyle and Nikolai had come up with a plan; track down the Coelophysis, lure them in with bait and corral them until transport. A voice screamed into their walkie-talkies, "Hello! Can anyone hear me? This is urgent!". Kyle picked up the communicator, and answered, "This is Kyle. What's the problem?". He recognised who the voice was; Matt Thompson, with the research division. Matt said, in response, "Where the hell are you guys?! Don't you know what's hap-". "We're tracking the Coelophysis; about 30 of them escaped. The door lock on the paddock failed; for some bizarre and, probably, 'hilarious' reason.", Kyle said, with Nikolai listening intently; Matt might have something important to say. Matt yelled over the radio, "That's not really a priority at the moment! One of the teams brought back a herd of Apatosaurus and they stampeded out of the holding pens! They're somewhere in the park now."

"How many Apatosaurus did they bring back?", Kyle asked; both he and Nikolai were sincerely hoping that only a few of the huge dinosaurs had been brought back. They could get them rounded up easier if they were. Matt's voice answered "About 25." Kyle's eye twitched in irritation; of course they had done. Things never went easily for Prehistoric Earth. Nikolai was looking at him, "So, Kyle? What do you suggest we do?". Kyle sighed, "Track down the apatosaurs; the Coelophysis can wait." Nikolai nodded; there was almost an expression of disappointment in his face that he and Kyle had found themselves in agreement.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, the team had followed the line of a small stream they'd found in the forest. The stream had led steeply down to a shallow valley, joining a larger river. As they entered, they saw a small group of juvenile Diplodocus cropping the horsetails. These were much bigger than the tiny hatchlings they had seen in the clearing; their necks and tails were longer and their legs comparatively thinner. Small horny plates were beginning to appear on their backs, creating a line of small, iguana-like spines. They were also much larger, with the largest being approximately twenty feet long.

Suddenly, a large creature rose out of a stand of horsetail. It was some thirty feet long, with a huge bulky body and diamond-shaped, vertical armour plates along its back. The tail was tipped with dangerous-looking three-foot spikes. But the neck tapered to an absurdly small head with a placid gaze, like a very dumb horse. They knew what it was immediately; it was a Stegosaurus. They didn't need the info packs to know that.

The young Diplodocus continued browsing; they knew the Stegosaurus was a herbivore and, therefore, unlikely to be a threat. However, Jack, Adrian and Alice were nervous around the huge creature; they, too, knew it was a herbivore, but the vicious looking spikes on its tail would be a cause for concern if they irritated it.

However, as the young Diplodocus filtered out onto the marshy canyon, the Stegosaurus paid them little attention; instead, he focused on working his way through a tough bennetite stem. Jack, Adrian and Alice relaxed slightly; the Stegosaurus was too occupied with the business of eating to notice any creature in the general vicinity,them included,

Suddenly, the Stegosaurus paused, sniffed the air and became very alert, snorting and scraping his feet, like a fighting bull. Jack, Adrian and Alice looked confused. "What's gotten into him?", Adrian whispered. "Maybe he's smelt us", Alice quietly replied, making sure not to disturb the creature further; they didn't want it to attack them. "Maybe", Jack said, "Or maybe, he's smelt something el-" Jack was interrupted by a low alligator-like hiss coming from directly behind them.

The three humans turned around, almost in unison to see two large Allosaurus moving towards them from the forest. They had been stalking the young Diplodocus; they had been following them all this time. The Stegosaurus bellowed and the juvenile Diplodocus panicked. The nearest Allosaurus hissed at the Stegosaurus' posturing. Jack, Adrian and Alice gulped; they were caught between a rock and a hard place…


	42. All Great And Precious Things Part 4

The Stegosaurus turned towards the Allosaurus, bellowing. He pounded his front feet, whilst swinging his tail vigorously at the Allosaurus. When the Allosaurus did not back off, he turned sideways to them, and his plates flushed a deep-red brown. The Allosaurus took a few steps back at this intimidating display, but they did not retreat.

The Diplodocus juveniles, disturbed by the stegosaur's attitude of alarm, began to mill about, swinging their tails in fear. The Allosaurus, their element of surprise ruined, struck. The first darted forward, past the Stegosaurus, and launched towards the nearest member of the group, sinking its teeth in the juvenile's rump. The sauropod briefly stumbled from the shock of the blow, but it was still standing. However, the Allosaurus maintained a vice-like grip on the sauropod, digging its heels in and preventing it from fleeing. Its comrade joined it, biting and clawing at the sauropod's flanks, tearing its flesh. Eventually, the sauropod's legs buckled and it collapsed into the water. The lead allosaur shifted its bite to the young sauropod's spinal cord, severing it. The allosaurs stood back as the dying sauropod entered its dying spasms; a kick from even a dying Diplodocus could severely injure them. However, the sauropod's spasms petered out and, after about ten minutes, it died. The Allosaurus roared in triumph and dived on the dead sauropod, like stray dogs to an open bin.

The other juveniles had scampered away, past the Stegosaurus, and had disappeared down the canyon. The Stegosaurus had resumed feeding, as if there had been no disturbance; it knew that, in the bloody calculations of the allosaurs' reptilian minds, the lure of the immediately available meat outweighed attacking the potentially dangerous, heavily armoured Stegosaurus. Jack scanned the canyon; it was a perfect opportunity to bring back all three of the creatures, but how… Suddenly, a thought occurred to Jack. He had a plan.

Jack gathered Adrian and Alice and began to explain; "Remember how we caught the Ornitholestes? We grabbed the sauropodlet corpses and pulled them through? Well, I reckon we do the same thing, but bigger. We use a winch, grab the dead Diplodocus and have them chase it through the portal." Adrian and Alice nodded; it seemed like a good idea.

Using a trail of vegetation as bait, they managed to send the Stegosaurus through the portal. Once they'd sent it through, they'd been surprised to find Yolanda and Collete manning the portal. The two filled them in on what had happened; Kyle and Nikolai were out both looking for the Apatosaurus Drew and Cynthia had brought back and about 30 Coelophysis that had escaped earlier. The latter story was the stranger; apparently, the electronic door lock had failed, for seemingly no reason. But, they could worry about that later; it was time to implement Jack's plan for the allosaurs.

Sneaking past the feeding carnivores, Jack hooked the hook end of winch into the sauropod's leg; the winch was attached to a park jeep, which Adrian was driving. Jack gave the thumbs-up signal, to which Adrian activated the winch, which began pulling the sauropod carcass away. The allosaurs took notice of this and began to move towards it, hissing at the Jeep. Jack yelled over the walkie-talkie, "Hit the pedal! Now! Adrian whirred the Jeep into life and began to drive forward, moving the sauropod carcass along with it. The nearest of the allosaurs roared at Adrian and they both tore after the meat. After Adrian had reached the mouth of the canyon, Alice activated the portal, which the Jeep , dragging the sauropod carcass with it, tore through. The Allosaurus dived through the portal after the carcass, like dogs after a tennis ball.

After a few minutes, Adrian returned through the portal, saying "Jack! Your plan worked; Yolanda and Collete are getting the allos into the vet pens. And it was an awesome idea, too!". Jack punched the air triumphantly and said, "Yeah!" Alice looked at her brother and smiled, "Well, Commander Modesty", she said fondly, "What's the plan?" Jack, emboldened by his success, stated "We head thataway!", he said, dramatically pointing at the direction in which the juvenile Diplodocus had headed. Today was getting to be a good day.

Meanwhile, in Wyoming, Drew woke up from his sleep and gave out a yawn. He'd slept surprisingly well; the night had been rather quiet, aside from the occasional sound outside the tent. He suddenly heard someone moving outside; one of the team must have woken up already. He rubbed his eyes, stretched and clambered out of his tent to find Cynthia standing outside. Surprised at his arrival, she gave out a small gasp and backed away from Drew, "Don't do that!", she said, mock-indignantly. Drew, changing the subject, said "Early riser?" Cynthia said, "Yeah. Beautiful, isn't it?", she gestured to the vista. "Yeah", Drew said, "Yeah". Cynthia states, "Reminds me of Africa, a bit. Only with dinosaurs. " Drew said, "You were in Africa?", to which she nodded, "Yeah, before I came here." "Anyways", she said, pointing at the large basin they were looking at, "Back on subject; I was walking round this morning and, wouldn't you know, it, I found tracks. Sauropods. Big ones, too. Fresh, and headed approximately", she pointed approximately northwest, "That way." Drew looked at her, flabbergasted, "How did you-". Cynthia smiled at him and went, "Said I was in Africa, didn't I? You pick up a few things"

Shortly after the dramatic events in the canyon, Jack was walking with a little bit of a spring in his step. They had tracked the juvenile Diplodocus to the edge of the forest, but there had been no sign of them so far. Jack, Adrian and Alice looked around, for any sign of the young dinosaurs. Suddenly, Jack briefly paused; there was a weird smell in the air. It was a weird scent; it smelt almost like something was… burning. He went rigid; that wasn't his imagination. He could smell smoke in the air. Adrian and Alice went rigid too; they had memories of the Carboniferous forest fire. Suddenly, smoke blew in the air, like some sort of malignant wind. They turned round to see flames were moving through the forest, getting closer and closer to them…

To be continued.


	43. All Great And Precious Things Part 5

The fire had started miles to the south, due to a lightning storm. Fires were not uncommon in these forests, but this was bigger than normal. Since the rains were late, the vegetation was tinder-dry, and warm southerly mists brought the fire north. A firestorm started amongst the conifers and floating pieces of vegetation spawned a thousand smaller fires throughout the forest. Soon, a 100km stretch of forest was aflame; the understorey was completely incinerated and columns of fire leapt through the canopy.

The dinosaurs had picked up the scent of smoke long before the fire reached them; however, many still perished. Those that fled in the wrong direction, or those to slow to outrun the advancing flames were doomed. Fires this size were rate, but when they occurred, they could wipe out whole generations of animals.

Jack, Alice and Adrian stood, paralysed, at the roaring inferno. "Run!", Alice screamed, as the three adventurers took off, trying to outrun the advancing flames. Escaping the forest, they ran out into the open scrub. Stopping to catch their breath, they turned to look at the inferno; whilst small fires had started on the scrub, the sparse vegetation had meant that the fires had quickly burnt themselves out.

"Well, that was a close shave!", Jack said, looking at his fellow teammates. Alice said, "Yeah. So, what's the plan?". Jack shrugged and said, "I guess we look for more animals." And, so, they hiked out into the scrub, away from the burning forest.

After about two hours of hiking, they came to an area of open scrub. As they entered, they saw a small group of juvenile Diplodocus, browsing on the ferns. They recognised them instantaneously; Adrian said, "I think they're the same ones we met in the ravine. Wonder what they're doing out here". Jack commented, "They must have been driven out of the forest by the fire; probably a lot of things were. They're in perfect position for us to bring them back…"

Suddenly, the ground began to quake; both the humans and the young sauropods went rigid. For a few minutes, all was quiet… then, suddenly, a low, trumpeting hoot, like an elephant, echoed through the air, deafening both the humans and the Diplodocus. Both groups turned to see a herd of gigantic sauropods enter the. From their appearance, it was clear that these were not Diplodocus; there were many differences. The first, and most obvious, difference is that their front legs were much longer than their back ones, giving them sloping backs and a slightly front-heavy appearance. They were much taller than the Diplodocus, too, due to their sloping backs; the largest individuals' head was almost thirty feet off the ground. They had leathery grey skin, with pale bellies. On each individual's head was a little bump. On the top part of the neck, and the end of the tail, there were small spines, like an iguana.

Again, they didn't need the book to know what they were. They knew they were Brachiosaurus. "They're magnificent", Alice said, quietly, as so not to disturb the giants. Jack, grinning, turned to his sister and said, "We are SO having them in the park". As the giants moved closer into view, all creatures nearby had gone silent. With an almost stately walk, the Brachiosaurus walked over to a knot of araucaria and began feeding. Jack, quietly, crept up to the herd and pressed the button on the portal remote. The herd stared, transfixed at this glowing orb, and, one by one, walked slowly through the portal. When the last one had gone through, Jack closed the portal.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Kyle and Nikolai had managed to track the Apatosaurus; well, they hadn't been hard to find. Using food and recordings of their calls, the Apatosaurus were being herded towards Mesozoic Safaris, their new home. Four Park Jeeps followed the herd, corralling in the herd; every time one strayed, the Jeeps would herd it back to its compatriots.

As the gigantic herd walked through the park, all nearby humans paused and stared in reverence at these giants. True, they had seen many interesting and weird prehistoric creatures, but there was no creature as truly magnificent as them. These gigantic dinosaurs made even the most impressive of the previous creatures they had previously seen and cared for look tiny and ineffectual by comparison.

Other creatures had formed their own opinions of the Apatosaurus; some very different to those of the humans. As the giants ploughed through everything in their path, about thirty sleek, bipedal shapes sprinted out of their way, moving as if a single entity. They were instantly recognisable; the escapee Coelophysis had finally been found. Kyle smiled, lifted his communicator and said "Our escapee Coelophysis have done a runner; they're headed towards their paddock. Herd them in when they get there, would you?." Kyle smiled; two birds with one stone.

Back in Colorado, the juvenile Diplodocus were still browsing on the ferns, after the Brachiosaurus had left. They were milling about, almost expectantly; as if they were waiting for something to arrive. Jack turned to Adrian and said "Wonder what they're waiting for?" Adrian and Alice both shrugged; the juvenile Diplodocus knew something was coming, but they didn't know what. After about thirty minutes, a long, low hooting cry moved through the air, and the ground began to rumble again. Jack, Alice and Adrian turned to the distance and saw several large, grey creatures moving towards them. They knew what they were immediately; they were adult Diplodocus. This was what the juveniles had been waiting for. They walked in the clearing, one by one, regarding the juveniles; the juveniles wanted to be accepted by the adults, for the purposes of protection. The sauropods all looked at each other, tensely.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Jack crept up to the herd and pressed the button on the portal remote. All of the Diplodocus stared, transfixed at this glowing orb, and, adult and juvenile alike, walked slowly through the portal. When the last one had gone through, Jack closed the portal, smiled at his compatriots and went, "Let's go home"


	44. All Great And Precious Things Part 6

At the park, Jack and Kyle had sent a Jeep back into the Jurassic, in order to help Drew, Cynthia and Leon track the herd of Diplodocus. The Jeep had driven in pursuit of the giant herd; only stopping when Cynthia had found more tracks. For three hours, they hadn't seen any trace of the gigantic animals, only their footprints; however, after three hours, they'd caught up with the herd on a large salt plain. About twenty-five enormous, grey creatures were walking across the salt flats; this was some kind of migration.

Cynthia, looking at the herd through binoculars, said "OK. How are we going to get this lot back through the portal? Any ideas?". At the end of this statement, she turned to look at Drew. Drew rolled his eyes and said, in reply, "I have a plan, alright? We just need the right opportunity to implement it."

However, they soon realised they weren't the only ones who were following the herd, too. Soon after they began observing the herd, they'd noticed three subadult Allosaurus following the herd. Drew had been planning to get two species for the price of one… The Allosaurus trio began scanning the herd, looking for potential targets. Their eyes locked on a potential target; a weaker Diplodocus, at the back of the herd.

In a fraction of a second, the Allosaurus rushed into the herd, towards the weakened Diplodocus, snapping at the weakened Diplodocus' heels like sheepdogs, before recoiling again. For about half an hour, they repeated this process; each time they did it, the sickly Diplodocus moved a little further away from the herd. Eventually, the herd had moved on, leaving their weakened companion behind… and at the Allosaurus' mercy. "Hurry!", Drew, not wanting to miss the opportunity afforded by this, yelled to Cynthia and Leon, "Set up the portal!" The two others suddenly snapped out of their state of shock and began to set up the portal in the direction towards which the herd were moving. The entire herd moved through the portal, into the present.

The Allosaurus had the weakened Diplodocus surrounded. They stood, hesitantly; even a sickened Diplodocus could seriously injure them. Eventually, the sauropod began to tire, and the Allosaurus struck. The first Allosaurus jumped onto the sauropod's flank, beginning to tear at the sauropod's flesh with its teeth and claws, inflicting deep wounds, before nimbly jumping off its prey's side, landing on its feet like a cat, before the sauropod could crush it. The sauropod now had deep wounds on its side, from the Allosaurus' teeth and claws. The second Allosaurus attacked from the opposite side, tearing at the flesh of the sauropod's flanks, followed by the third, who left deep wounds on the sauropod's rump. This went on for over an hour, with the sauropod's injuries growing in intensity and its blood loss increasing, until it dropped to its knees in a spray of blood, staining the salt red.

The allosaurs stood back as their prey entered its death throes. They knew that a single kick from the sauropod could kill them. Eventually, the sauropod's spasms ceased, its breaths became shallower and its eyes glazed over. It was dead. The allosaurs dived on it and began to feed. Drew, Cynthia and Leon stood back; they didn't want the predators attacking them. Leon, however, had observed the hunt with rapt interest; especially how the allosaurs had co-ordinated their efforts to bring down the Diplodocus. "I wonder…", he muttered.

Suddenly, a larger Allosaurus ran out onto the salt flats. Not wanting to give up their kill, the three smaller males hissed at this newcomer. However, the larger animal prevailed and chased the trio off. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Drew set up the portal and the three young allosaurs ran towards it, into the present.

It was at this moment they realised that the large Allosaurus looked familiar. Drew said to Leon, "That's the female Allosaurus from before; the one that caused the Apatosaurus to stampede." Leon nodded and said, "Yeah." They stayed back; they didn't want to get between a predator and its meal. The Allosaurus ate her fill, ripped some meat from the carcass and carried it away from the salt flats.

They decided to send the Jeep back through the portal, in order to avoid alerting the alllosaur. Instead, they would track it by foot. And, so, they hiked from the salt flats to the denuded forest, in pursuit of the giant theropod. For two hours, there were only fleeting glimpses of a sandy-brown, striped shape ghosting through the forest; however, that was about to change. As they walked past a forest clearing, they suddenly heard a small, cheeping sound, from a forest clearing.

Bursting into the clearing, they looked around to see two Allosaurus chicks, with downy black and white feathers looking forlornly at a dead adult Allosaurus. They knew what it meant immediately; the chick's mother had died from the drought, and they were orphaned. After sending them through the portal, they heard a low, anguished roar from behind them. Running towards the sound, they saw something that caused Drew, Leon and Cynthia's hearts to drop. It was the female Allosaurus, stuck to her knees in quicksand. She let out several, low anguished roars as she continued to struggle to get out of the mire. Drew said, with a note of urgency in his voice, "We need to act fast, or she's going to die." Leon said, "Have you got a plan?"

Drew smirked, "In fact, I do. Cynthia, go through the time portal, take some rope and tie it to the end of the Jeep. I really don't know if this will work, but it's all we have to work with right now. If we don't' do this, she's going to die"

Cynthia nodded, "OK", and went through the portal to the present, bringing back the Jeep. Once she had come through, Drew grabbed the hook end of the winch and tossed it towards the allosaur, who grabbed it in her jaws; the winch had been attached to the jeep, which Cynthia was driving. Drew yelled, "Now!" and gave the signal, to which she activated the winch, The Allosaurus took notice of this, and attempted to pull on the rope like a dog with a new toy; however, she was losing the battle. There was method in this seeming madness; every time the allosaur pulled forward, she moved slightly forward in the mud. Eventually, she had moved close enough to the edge of the pool to pull herself out. After she had done that, Leon activated the portal, which the Jeep tore through. The female Allosaurus walked through the portal, after the hook.

At the portal site, they were met by Jack. "Hi, guys!", he said, "You are not gonna believe the day we've had…", he trailed off, looking at the mud-covered Allosaurus. "You, too, huh?", he responded. Soon the Jurassic creatures were all transferred to their new homes. The Ornitholestes had been provided a small forest to clamber and hunt in, in a new area called Mesozoic Tropics. The Allosaurus had been moved into a large paddock, in a new area called Theropod Kingdom. They were currently roaming their new territory, and waiting for their next meal. The juvenile Diplodocus had been put in the Discovery Outpost, until they were big enough to join the adult herd. The baby allosaurs were there as well, until they decided what to do with them. And the large herds of herbivores were all being transferred to Mesozoic Safaris; a huge area of land composed of forests, savannahs, rivers, even a lake complete with waterfall. Three containment trucks had pulled up for the smaller herbivores. The first truck opened and the Othnielosaurus hesitantly walked into the exhibit, moving as if a unified entity. The second let out the Dryosaurus, who sprinted into the bush. The third truck let out the Stegosaurus, who stepped out the trucks, one by one, into their new home.

The sauropods, however, were two big to transport using the trucks; so, instead, using food and recordings of their calls, the sauropods were being herded towards Mesozoic Safaris, their new home. Four Park Jeeps followed the herd, corralling them in; every time one strayed, the Jeeps would herd it back to its compatriots. Eventually, the herbivores were all in their new home. Mesozoic Safaris was beginning to fill up.

In Theropod Kingdom, Leon was watching the allosaurs intently; after witnessing their ruthless hunting skills in the Jurassic, he'd had a few ideas regarding them. He'd taken particular interest to the degree that the allosaurs had co-ordinated their efforts to bring down the Diplodocus. He'd had quite a few ideas regarding them; which, some day, he would implement…

Meanwhile, in Drew's office, Drew was looking at the files for the next mission. Cynthia was with him. "I'm taking it Leon has become very interested in the allosaurs?", Drew asked, as he looked over his files for the mission. Cynthia nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! He's been spending every day at their enclosure; haven't got the foggiest what he's got planned", before turning to leave. "Cynthia!", Drew said, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to him and said "What do you want?". Drew looked around sheepishly and said "Would you like a drink?".

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth, the team goes back to the oceans of the Late Jurassic**

 **(an ichthyosaur leaps out of the water)**

 **Where they meet new friends**

 **(Adrian holds an injured pterosaur)**

 **And deadly marine predators**

 **(A large pilosaur emerges from the depths)**

 **Meanwhile, back at the park, Leon implements an ambitious plan with the allosaurs**

 **(Allosaurus roars at him)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: The Cruel Sea!**

Animals rescued:

Dryosaurus: 27 (16 male, 11 female)

Othnielia: 33 (16 male, 17 female)

Anurognathus: 89 (54 male, 35 female)

Stegosaurus: 8 (3 male, 5 female)

Brachiosaurus: 14 (7 males, 7 females)

Apatosaurus: 26 (9 males, 17 females)

Ornitholestes: 5 (4 males, 1 female)

Diplodocus: 77 (34 males, 43 females)

Allosaurus: 8 (6 males, 2 females)


	45. The Cruel Sea Part 1

The island was split in the middle by a long, deep water channel, which ran up from the sea for about 300 miles. Within a few hundred metres, the depth dropped from 50 metres to almost a mile deep. Coral reefs decorated the rim, but at the bottom of the abyss, there was nothing but a thick layer of mud full of creatures which survived on the rain of dead of animals from the sea above. A bipedal dinosaur was stalking the spray, looking for dead animals that the tide had churned up. The dinosaur stopped to sniff at a smashed ammonite and had made a grave mistake; it had turned its back on the ocean.

Suddenly, a bow wave swept through the water towards it. As it explodes, a pair of crocodilian jaws, almost two metres long, erupted out of the water and clamped onto the dinosaur's leg. The smaller dinosaur flailed around screaming, but its fate was sealed. Effortlessly, the top predator of the Jurassic ocean slid back into the water, dragging the dinosaur to its doom.

(Intro theme)

Leon sighed, "Drew, can I not go on the mission today?" Drew looked at him, confused, "Why?". Leon breathed out; he couldn't tell his friend his plan, in fear that Drew would veto it. It was a risky plan; but if it was successful, it would be a great benefit for the future of the park. It hurt him to keep the secret, but he had to. "All I can say is that I believe it's important for the park's future". Drew gave him a puzzled look and said "Fine. You can stay at the park and do whatever your big plan is". Leon grinned ear to ear and said "Thanks!", before heading off.

As Leon left, Cynthia Night, Adrian Sky and Jack and Alice Denham entered the room, looking curiously at Leon as he skipped away. "Oh, you're here. Good. Leon's not coming on this mission; he said he had something to do." The other four members of the team looked at each other; what exactly did Leon have planned?

Drew looked at them and cleared his throat, ""The Late Jurassic oceans were home to a great diversity of marine animals," Drew explained, flicking through pages of the file. "The best fossils of the time have been found in a place in the United Kingdom called the Oxford Clay, which happens to be one of the best marine fossil sites in the world. That's where we're going today. The Mariner's ready; we're ready to set off."

At the veterinary pens, Linda Eberhart was looking at the injured female Postosuchus, who had recovered greatly since her operation. The time had now come to put her in the Postosuchus paddock; however, they had to introduce her to the male, to acclimate them to each other. That was why she was talking to Nikolai. "Can I please have some security personnel on standby; just in case something goes wrong?", she said to Nikolai, who was standing in front of her. Nikolai rolled his eyes and said "I will be able to send a few people, but I can't spare many personnel. My team are going to be busy with the Coelophysis; they have proven to be quite the escapologists ever since the initial escape". Linda nodded at the memory; on the mission two weeks prior, about 30 of the Coelophysis had escaped, due to some error in the locking system. Cynthia, who had been at the paddock at the time, had been asked about any hints of the accident; she had told them that she had simply not noticed any system error.

As Nikolai walked away, Leon walked up to him, grinning ear to ear. "Nikolai!", he said, "I might need a few security personnel for a… private project involving the Allosaurus". Nikolai sighed; "Most of my team are going to be busy with the Coelophysis and I've already sent some personnel watching the Postosuchus introduction; there aren't many people available… what is the project, exactly?" Leon looked around, nervously, "I can't tell you because… it's a bit outside-the-box…" Nikolai gave him a stare and said bluntly, "That sounds like it's going to turn out to be a wild goose chase and I can't spare any personnel for that". Nikolai walked off, and Leon looked crestfallen. Back to square one, then. Who could he ask for help?

Meanwhile, Drew, Cynthia, Adrian, Jack and Alice boarded the Ancient Mariner and were ready to head off. everyone was at the portal. The portal was calibrated, it opened and the Ancient Mariner sailed through.

The Mariner emerged from the portal . Alice looked out of the window; they'd landed in a bay. The sea was calm, the tide was low and the waves lapped gently on a nearby beach; she could see the indistinct forms of dinosaurs prowling the shoreline. There was no sound, aside from the lapping of the waves and the harsh calls of a distant pterosaur. It looked, for all in the world, like the Bahamas; far from what it would look like over 149 million years in the future. It was a tranquil image of peace and serenity; Alice stared out and sighed at the beautiful vista before her. Through their binoculars, they saw something lying on a coral shelf like a reptilian seal. It had dark brown, leathery skin, a long neck and a small head and large flippers. Drew grabbed his binoculars to take a look. "According to the info-packs, it's Cryptoclidus; a kind of plesiosaur", he told Alice. "Largely a fish-eater; not too dangerous, but it shouldn't be taken too lightly." Another Cryptoclidus was basking on the shelf nearby; the two animals ignored each other. The Cryptoclidus closest to the sea suddenly moved forward and, with a couple of cumbersome movements, launched itself of the shelf and into the sea. Another soon joined it. Drew turned to Alice and said "Alice, can you go down in the water and see if you can catch some? Seeing as you were the one who brought back the Nothosaurus; Cryptoclidus is kind of similar. We'll tell you if anything else is coming your way." Alice nodded, turned on her heels and headed off to put on her diving suit.

After donning her diving suit, Alice dove into the water. Like she had done with the Nothosaurus, had taken a cattle prod with her, in order to keep the reptiles from getting too close for comfort. It didn't take long for some to appear, most likely curious of the new creature. Up close, Alice could see details that she hadn't been able to discern before. Their skin was brown and leathery, and they had a long neck and a small, broad, flattened head, with long jaws equipped with hundreds of small, sharp interlocking teeth (some in the form of paired fangs). Their limbs were large flippers; they were perfectly adapted to the life aquatic. It seemed that the plesiosaurs had instantly noticed the cattle prod she had and approached with caution, not wanting to be on the receiving end of what (to them) was a large, extendable claw.

The Crypoclidus may have looked reptilian, but they had the playfulness and inquisitive nature of sea lions. They were swimming close, but keeping their distance; some of them allowed themselves to be petted, curious at this new creature. When the time came to use the portal, Alice turned it on. They briefly stared, transfixed at this strange, shining orb, before heading through the portal into the park. Once they had all gone through, Alice noticed something in the reefs. She activated the communicator in the diving suit and asked, "Guys, are there any other animals in the area?" Adrian looked at the radar and responded. "There are a lot of animals showing up on the radar right next to you; we can't tell anything else. Tell me what you see."

Alice nodded and went to see what was over the coral. What she saw was a shoal of large, fish-like creatures swimming into the reef; however, their lack of gills told her they were, indeed reptiles. They had long, fish like bodies, sleek fins and powerful, crescent-shaped tails. The tail's easy side to side beat allowed them to cruise effortlessly through the water. Each animal had greyish black backs and off-white underbellies. As Alice described them to the boat crew, they turned through the journal and thought for a bit before hitting on a possible match. "Opthalmosaurus", Drew told her, "They're ichthyosaurs; the oldest of marine reptiles, related to the Cymbospondylus back at the park. However, these only eat fish. They're one of our targets."


	46. The Cruel Sea Part 2

Leon stood at the allosaur paddock, observing the animals roam around the paddock. His failure to get security personnel for his plan was a setback, but one he needed to resolve; this plan was imperative for the park's future. After a few more minutes of thinking, Leon suddenly heard someone cough. Leon gasped in surprise and suddenly turned to see Nikolai standing behind him. "This had better be important; I left Collete in charge of the Coelophysis efforts to come here. Alright, Gilbertson", he said, "What's your project?" Leon smiled, "I'd be happy to tell you…"

Meanwhile, in the Jurassic, the Opthalmosaurus entered the lagoon, they began slowing down. The nearest began to convulse a couple of times. As Alice swam closer, she noticed a small, writhing form beneath the pale skin of the icthyosaur's underbelly. The adult ichthyosaur paddled lowly to the surface and hung motionless as a small cloud of red exited its cloaca; this was followed by a tiny limp tail. For a moment, the ichthyosaur remained like this, before its body suddenly convulsed again and it dived down into the coral. As it did so, it left behind a plume of blood and a newborn ichthyosaur. The newborn immediately headed to the surface to take its first breath of air, before diving to hide amongst the corals. Many, many more of the ichthyosaurs began doing this and many little pups swam down into the coral reefs.

After the last adults had given birth, they began to swim away; not wanting to miss out on this opportunity, Alice headed towards the exhausted ichthyosaurs. The ichthyosaurs were more sedentary than the Cryptoclidus; they had no interest in Alice whatsoever, which made luring them through the portal a lot harder. Without other options, Alice got the bait bag and began emptying it into the water near the portal, which caused them to follow it, heading through into the present, moving as if a single, unified entity.

One ichthyosaur, however, had not swum through with the others. It was at the surface, trying to give birth; its body had convulsed repeatedly, but there was no sign of the baby. Unbenknowst to this female, her unborn pup had died in utero and was stuck up the birth canal. She returned to the surface for air, clearly exhausted, releasing blood with every contraction. Alice looked at the struggling animal with a pang of sympathy. Activating her in-suit communicator, she informed them, "There's an Opthalmosaurus that appears to be struggling; I'm going to see if I can help it".

Meanwhile, on the Mariner… "What do you mean it's missing?!", Drew screamed as Jack, Cynthia and Adrian ran around the boat in a mad dash, in search of the walkie-talkie that connected to Alice's diving suit. The situation was urgent; they needed to warn Alice that something large had been detected on the radar, heading directly towards her. They didn't know what it was; it could have been anything and she could be in danger. Cynthia said, as an aside to Drew, "Bet you any money it was Jack's fault; he must have put it somewhere and forgotten where he put it". Jack, hearing this, turned to her and shrieked "I haven't even touched the communicator! Stop trying to blame me for everything!" Jack slumped in a chair and began to twitch and squirm nervously; he was worried greatly about his sister. Adrian walked towards Jack, put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Let's turn on the starboard camera; we can see what's going on". Drew walked over to the control board and activated the starboard camera. The four adventurers stared open-mouthed at the screen and Jack said, "I don't think any of us were expecting _that_."

Alice was about to approach the ichthyosaur when, suddenly, something massive erupted from the deep, moving so fast that it was practically a blur. She only got brief glimpses of it, but she could tell it was black-and-white in colouration. The ichthyosaur let out a single squeal of pain as it was knocked off balance. Suddenly, before it could regain its bearings, the icthyosaur's tail was grabbed by a pair of gigantic jaws. The jaws then bit down, clouding the water in the immediate radius with blood; the Opthalmosaurus' death squeals ceased. Alice looked around confusedly for any sign of the creature responsible, but, once the blood cleared, Alice could get a good view of it. Her eyes widened, "Oh crap".

It held the dead ichthyosaur in its mouth, like a dog holding a bone. Its head was almost nine feet long; longer than she was tall. Its four massive flippers were each about seven feet long. From nose to tail, it must have been sixty feet long. It was beautifully coloured, with black markings on top and white underneath. However, the colours were dulled; the patterns were not clearly visible. Its body, especially its flippers and head, was pockmarked with deep scars, from past battles.

The predator stared at Alice with cold disinterest; the lure of the immediately available meat was worth more than attacking this tiny creature. The predator shook the dead ichthyosaur, like a terrier shaking a rat. The shaking was so violent, the tail portion of the ichthyosaur detached and fell to the ocean floor. After regarding Alice with a look of cold indifference, the predator left.

Alice briefly took a moment to compose herself and then swam to the surface; as she was doing so, her in-suit communicator frazzed into life. "Alice? Alice? Are you alright? We saw that thing on the on-board camera and-", Jack's voice screamed over the communicator. Alice smiled, "Don't worry, Jack, I'm fine. What was that thing?" Drew breathed out, "We'll tell you when you get back on the boat".

Meanwhile, at the park, Linda and Khatin were discussing the plans to introduce the Postosuchus to each other. Linda stated, pointing to the left side of the enclosure on the map, "We do the first introduction on this part of the enclosure; it's away from the part the male's drawn out as his territory, meaning it'll be neutral ground." Khatin nodded, "That reduces the likelihood of conflict between them. However", he gestured at the security personnel around him, "you guys should be on standby with hosepipes, in case our introduction plan doesn't work and they end up fighting." The six personnel nodded. "Right", Linda nodded, "Let's do this."

Meanwhile, in the Jurassic, Alice had got back up on the boat and removed her diving suit. She and the rest of the mission team were now in the crew room, having a meeting about the incident. Drew addressed everyone, "I looked through the info-packs and I know what that thing is; it's some kind of large pilosaur, probably Liopleurodon. However… how big was it?" Alice waved her hand and said "Its head was about nine feet long, so, in total, it was about sixty feet long." Drew nodded, "That's interesting because, according to the info packs and information Leon told me prior to this mission, Liopleurodon was probably about half that. So he's a very special individual..." Jack gave Drew a shocked stare, "You're saying we go after him right away?!" Drew shook his head, "No. From what we know about big predators, he's probably going to stick around for quite a while. The radar did detect smaller Liopleurodon swimming around after he had left. They probably came into the lagoon to feed on the pups. We find a couple of them and we practice; they're about Cryptoclidus-sized, meaning they're a bit more manageable for us to start with".

Jack said, "Speaking of the Opthalmosaurus pups; are we going to be bringing them back?" Drew smiled "That's what we're going to do; Jack, Cynthia, you're with me. Alice, Adrian, go and find some young Liopleurodon." The Ancient Mariner rolled into the beach and dropped Alice and Adrian off, before turning around and heading into the reef. The search had begun.


	47. The Cruel Sea Part 3

After leaving Alice and Adrian, the Mariner cut through the water, back to the reef. Jack and Drew were looking at the sonar scope. Jack said, "Any sign of our Liopleurodon friend?", to which Drew shook his head, "Fortunately not; the reef must be too difficult for him to travel in." Jack gave Drew a puzzled look, "So, do we know where the pups are?". Drew sighed, "Well, that's the thing… the pups are too small to pick up on sonar… so, we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way." Jack breathed out and said, "Isn't that always the truth, fearless leader?"

At the allosaur paddock, Leon told Nikolai the full details of his plan. "I got thinking after the Jurassic mission", he said, "and did some working out". He gestured at the allosaurs, "These are the largest carnivores we've ever brought back; they're thirty feet long and weigh two tons. However, in future missions, we're going to bring back things that make these look like geckos; things like T-rex and Giganotosaurus, which were some of the biggest carnivores ever to walk the Earth. If one of those got out, it could cause havoc". Nikolai raised an eyebrow and looked at Leon, "How is that relevant to your plan?" Leon gave Nikolai a serious look, "Having some big, powerful apex predators on _our_ side tips the balance in our favour; in case anything happens and something big, toothy and dangerous ends up wreaking havoc, we can use these guys to stop it." Nikolai still looked sceptical, "And what convinced you to use them, specifically?" Leon smiled at Nikolai, "They were the perfect candidates; I saw them hunting in the Jurassic. Their level of co-ordination impressed me; it allowed them to bring down prey several times their size. We're going to need that in the future." Nikolai gave Leon a curious look, "So, what are you going to do?" Leon smiled, "I'm gonna do the best I can."

Back in the Jurassic, Drew and Jack swam through the reef, in search of the baby Opthalmosaurus. Finding the pups was proving to be more difficult than anticipated, presumably due to the many predators that they had. Which was fine from an evolutionary point of view… however, it meant trying to catch them was a bitch. Whenever they got within close range of a few, they would scatter, darting away into the caverns and tunnels of the coral reef. From what they saw, they noticed differences between these pups and the adults; the pups had a more mottled pattern, which he presumed was for camouflage. As they approached another pup, by a large spreading fan coral, it suddenly turned and snapped at Jack, inches away from his face, before swimming off. That was another difference; they had prominent teeth, which they probably lost when they grew.

Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, they noticed some pups tormenting a shoal of nautilus-like creatures. They looked at each other; they didn't need the info-packs to know what they were. They were ammonites. The pups were snapping at the ammonites, who had drawn in the hoods covering the opening of their shells, meaning that the pups could not get at them. However, the pups were persistent, nibbling at the closed hood and attempting to push it open. Jack turned to Drew and asked "Do you think we could send them all through the portal whilst they're distracted?" Drew shrugged and said, "Sounds like a plan. Get the portal." However, as they approached the ammonites, the pups noticed them and dived back into the reef.

The two looked at each other and rolled their eyes; so close and, yet, so far. They turned to look at the ammonites, which were swimming slowly away. They didn't need to say what the other was thinking; it wasn't much but, hey, it was better than nothing. Drew and Jack swam towards the ammonites and activated the portal directly in their path and, one by one, they swam through the portal. After the last ammonite had gone through, they noticed that the pups they were following had re-appeared on the edge of the reef, looking like children on the edge of a diving board. Drew turned to Jack and smiled, "Perfect opportunity?". Jack nodded in agreement and said, "Perfect opportunity". They swam closer, ready to activate the portal… before the pups suddenly disappeared into the reef. They only had a moment's pause before an enormous shadow, so big that it blocked out the sun, moved slowly over them. Looking up, they both gasped; Jack said, "And, what, pray tell, are those?".

Back at the park, Linda and Khatin were beginning their plans to introduce the Postosuchus to each other. Their plan had been very simple; to introduce the two on an area of the left side of the enclosure that the male had not marked out as his territory. This was neutral ground, in order to reduce the likelihood of a fight. However, just in case things came to worse, there were six security personnel, on standby with hosepipes to separate the warring archosaurs. When Khatin gave the signal, the door of the containment truck opened and the female Postosuchus emerging into the paddock. She briefly looked around, pausing to sniff on her new surroundings.

Suddenly, the male Postosuchus came walking towards her, bellowing and waving his tail. As he came towards her, he swiped the ground with his forelimbs, throwing dust at her, whilst snarling aggressively. However, the female did not back down. Instead, she reared up on her hind legs, bellowing at him. The male reared up and bellowed a threat in kind. The nearest member of the security personnel briefly raised his hose, but was stopped by Khatin and Linda. He gave them a look as if they'd gone mad. However, Khatin explained, "No, this is necessary. They're having a contest to set territorial boundaries; basically, whose side is whose." Linda nodded, "We just need to keep an eye out; if it gets violent, we interfere." Eventually, the brief conflict was over, and the two Postosuchus relaxed; the boundaries had been established without the need for physical violence. The two archosaurs walked off in opposite directions. The brief confrontation had been an exercise in setting boundaries; he had his territory and she had hers.

Meanwhile, Alice and Adrian turned the corner on the beach to see a flock of pterosaurs fishing on the shore. Each pterosaur was brown-furred and had a wingspan of about five feet. Much of their length was their tail, which was long and stiffened, ending in a diamond shaped point. However, it was the head that was the most distinguishing feature; their faces were bright red, and their jaws filled with horizontally-angled, needle-shaped teeth. They didn't need the info packs to know what these were; they were Rhamphorhynchus. The pterosaurs were on the shore, digging through the sand to find food; every now and again, a pterosaur's head would come up with a gelatinous substance in its mouth. Adrian and Alice gave each other puzzled looks. "Wonder what they're doing?", Adrian said. Alice shrugged, "Those things they're eating look like horseshoe crab eggs; maybe it's an important food source for them." Alice suddenly smiled and said, "They're all on the beach, searching for food… perfect opportunity, wouldn't you think?" Adrian smiled in return and said, "You just read my mind."

Suddenly, they heard something emerge from the water and turned to see a large dinosaur ambling onto the shoreline, some distance away. It was a theropod dinosaur, some twenty feet long. There was a similarity in appearance to the Allosaurus back at the park; like them, it stood bipedally on two large, muscular legs, whilst its arms were short and ended in three-fingered hands, with its body being counterbalanced by a long tail. However, its tail was slightly longer and flatter than the Allosaurus and its head was longer and deeper. The pterosaurs squawked loudly at this intruder, who ignored them to advance towards what appeared to be the decaying body of a large turtle. With a tug, it drew out a large blob of meat and began to feast. Alice and Adrian looked at each other; they knew what this was. From the info packs, this was a Eustreptospondylus; an opportunistic hunter-scavenger that could swim between the islands of this Jurassic sea. However, what they did not know was that, in the podocarp forests, there were others watching them.


	48. The Cruel Sea Part 4

Drew and Jack stared, open-mouthed, as a shoal of gigantic fish swam above them. And gigantic they were; the largest of them was about ninety feet long. Their skin was scaly and sandy-brown, with darker patches assorted all over their bodies. They looked like a cross between a whale shark and a grouper. The creatures sailed through the water above them, taking little to no notice of the tiny specks watching them. Jack snapped out of his awe to briefly turn to Drew and ask, "And what, pray tell, are those?". Drew shrugged, "Well, based on stuff Leon told me and the info-packs, I think they're Leedsicthys; the largest kind of fish to ever exist". Jack was so shocked by what he was witnessing, that it was a few minutes before he noticed something; Drew was missing.

After looking around for several minutes, Jack spotted him doing something unbelievable; he was swimming after the giant fish. Jack called out "Drew! What are you bloody doing?!", as he saw Drew swim past the giant fish, keeping in pace with them. Jack's communicator fizzed into life, as Drew's voice fizzed over the communicator, "How else are we going to find out where they're going? Come on, they're only filter feeders." Jack quickly snapped out of his disbelief, before following Drew and the giants, keeping a safe distance.

After about twenty minutes, they had reached the lead fish and activated the portal directly in the shoal's path; the giant fish, barely regarding the gleaming orb, slowly began to swim towards the portal. The first one went through slowly, bit by bit, with the others following it. The spectacle was amazing to watch; it was as if everything else, even time itself, had stopped in order to celebrate this grand moment. After the last one went in, the portal was shut off. When the last one had gone through, they closed the portal.

As Drew and Jack looked around them, they noticed that another Leedsicthys, moving rather more slowly than the others had been; this was significantly smaller than them, too, with a duller colouration. Its incredibly slow, laboured movements indicated that it was dying; probably moments from death.

As Drew and Jack swam towards the ailing fish, a green, reptilian creature some ten feet long streaked out of the reef. It looked like a large crocodile; however, its feet were flippers and its tail was fluked, like a shark. The heavy, armoured scutes of freshwater crocodiles were gone, in favour of sleek skin. Drew and Jack looked at each other; they knew from the info-packs what this was. It was Metriorhynchus, a marine crocodile. The Metriorhynchus swam towards the ailing Leedsicthys and took a chunk out of its dorsal fin. After swallowing the meat, it briefly surfaced to take a gulp of air, before resuming its orbit around the dying fish.

However, the Metriorynchus wasn't alone. A shark, about six feet long, swam out of the reef and towards the dying fish. It looked like a cross between a mako shark and a Mexican hornshark; it was, unmistakably, Hybodus, a small shark of the Jurassic oceans. The Hybodus swam up to the Leedsicthys and began tearing a chunk out of its side.

Over the next twenty minutes, more Hybodus and Metriorynchus joined the two at the carcass; there was enough meat on the giant fish to keep every scavenger fed for weeks. It was there that Drew and Jack saw an opportunity. They swam incredibly close to the giant fish; the scavengers' reverie was interrupted when they realised that someone was trying to take their meat. They dived towards the two humans, before Jack activated the portal and the scavengers all dived through, moving as if a single entity.

After this had happened, Drew turned to look at the dying fish; during all the drama with the scavengers, the fish had died. Drew looked at the deceased leviathan and shrugged, "It's dead; there wasn't really anything we could have done for it anyway." Jack stared, at the deceased fish, his mouth gaping. "So…", he said, "What do we do now, fearless leader?" In response, Drew said, "We head back to the boat and put a beacon by the corpse. It's probably not going to be moving any time soon and I have a hunch that it might attract something quite a bit bigger…"

Meanwhile, back at the park, Leon was putting the first stages of his plan together. He was focusing on the three subadult male allosaurs, who had been named Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion (after the dragons from _Game of Thrones_ ); they would be more responsive to training than the three adults. Then he'd made a remote-controlled, dinosaur-shaped lure; one of the security team, with an interesting sense of humour, had painted the lure bright purple. As Leon explained, "This lure is an approximate simulation of a dinosaur, which the allosaurs will chase and then corner. Their natural instincts should take care of that; I'm going to get them to wait until my command, before they attack it". Nikolai rolled his eyes and said, "Put this plan into action, Gilbertson, and then I will see if it is viable."

Leon and Nikolai stood over the allosaur enclosure, looking at the three young males. Leon yelled "Open the gate!" Leon, using a remote control, moved the lure into the enclosure at high speed. The allosaurs dived after the lure, following it. Eventually, Leon turned the lure into a wall, allowing the allosaurs to corner their "prey". The young male Drogon took a few steps, jaws open, towards it when, suddenly…. A piercing whistle-blast echoed through the air. The allosaurs stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him. Leon threw them each a piece of meat; it was imperative that they be rewarded for, instead of immediately attacking a lure, to stop whenever he blew his whistle. It was a start. It was better than nothing.

Meanwhile, on the Jurassic islands, Alice and Adrian were watching the Rhamphorynchus flock, trying to work out how to bring them all back… That question was answered for them, when the Eustreptospondylus they had encountered earlier burst out into the clearing and began trying to grab the pterosaurs. The beachfront turned to chaos, with pterosaurs flying in all directions. Quickly, the Eustreptospondylus was joined in snapping up pterosaurs by two more of its kind.

Alice and Adrian looked at each other; this was the perfect opportunity. They activated the portal and the Rhamphorynchus, moving as if a single entity, dived through, into the present. The Eustreptospondylus let out surprised hisses and began to advance towards the portal; they would not be cheated of their prey so easily. When the last of the dinosaurs had gone through, Alice deactivated the portal. Suddenly, Adrian's radio whirred into life and Jack's voice echoed through the radio, "We're back! We'll be pulling into shore soon; head there. We're going to meet up and decide what the game plan is."

An hour later, and the Mariner was in the middle of the bay and the rest of the mission team were now in the crew room, having a meeting about how to proceed. Drew addressed everyone, "Jack and I found a dying Leedsicthys near to here; it died shortly after we found it. We've logged the co-ordinates at which the carcass was last seen; we have to know where it is. Big corpses attract big predators; we've been awarded an opportunity we're not going to miss." Alice looked curiously and said "So… we're forgetting about the Opthalmosaurus pups at this moment in time?" Drew waved his hand and said, "Sort of; we're going to go back to them after we've caught some Liopleurodon. They're the priority at the moment. We've got a beacon on the Leedsicthys carcass". Jack gave Drew a puzzled stare, "You're saying we go after forty-foot marine predators totally unprepared?!" Drew shook his head, "No. Remember the smaller Liopleurodon swimming around we caught on the radar? We've found them in a lagoon; they're about Cryptoclidus-sized, meaning they're a bit more manageable for us to start with". The Mariner headed to the right spot; the plan had begun.

Once they'd reached the lagoon, Drew explained the plan, "According to the info-packs, it's thought that Liopleurodon had a great sense of smell. We've brought smell suits with us; they're wetsuits modified to secrete chemicals that marine predators find objectionable. If one gets too close, the chemical can be pumped through the pipes and, hopefully, deter the predators; we're just going to see which one works. We've brought two chemicals with us; one is a chemical similar to decomposing shark meat, whilst the other is putrescene."

Jack gave Drew a curious gaze, "You're not expecting _us_ to be the guinea pigs for this, are you?" Cynthia turned to Jack with a smirk, "Well, it'd shut you up for once", to which Jack gave her a glare. Drew shook his head, "Nope. We have a crash test dummy to serve as, well, the dummy for this."

And so, the plan began. They put the smell suit on the dummy, weighted it down to the lagoon floor and put squid in the suit to attract the Liopleurodon. The first time, the suit was filled with a chemical deterrent that kept sharks away; it had absolutely no effect. One of the young Liopleurodon had grabbed it, almost pulling the dummy's head off. The team looked at each other; if they had used that chemical, they would have been decapitated. The second time, they tried putrescene; after one of the young Liopleurodon approached the suit, mouth open, it was repelled by the foul-smelling chemical.

Drew dived down to retrieve the suit, and bring back the two young Liopleurodon. As he approached them, he got to appreciate them in closer detail. Each was about twenty feet long. They were as inquisitive as the Cryptoclidus had been before, but were not as playful. They were circling Drew, but keeping their distance; they were curious at this new creature and whatever threat it might pose. When the time came to use the portal, Drew turned it on. They briefly stared, transfixed at this strange, shining orb, before heading through the portal into the park.

Once Drew had returned to the Mariner, and the young Liopleurodon had been brought back, the crew regrouped and headed back to the carcass. By the time they had reached it, the sun had set. Jack gave Drew a curious look, "So, basically, we just keep a stakeout on the carcass?" He sighed, "Anyone wanna play some poker?" Alice sighed, "I'm game" and Adrian nodded, "Me too." They looked at Drew, who shook his head and said, "I'm just going to keep checking the radar. Go have fun."

After several hours, Drew was still staring at the radar, to see if the radar he installed was picking up anything. Unfortunately it had nothing, except for the occasional small blip. Outside, the wind had begun to whip up; a storm was coming. Drew sighed; according to what Leon had told him, and the info-packs, the Late Jurassic was prone to tropical storms. If this one got any worse, they'd have to pull the boat into a cove and weather it out.

Drew suddenly turned to see Cynthia walking up to him; everyone else had gone to bed. She sighed, "Anything?". Drew shook his head, "Nope." Suddenly, the radar beeped into life and the two adventurers looked at the screen; two large shapes had been picked up surrounding the corpse. The indistinct shapes of two Liopleurodon, each about forty feet long surrounded the dead fish. They looked at each other; if they wanted to bring back Liopleurodon, this was their best chance.

After suiting up and diving into the water, they looked at the world around them; the seas seemed to change at night. It was something Drew had noticed in the Ordovician; the ocean seemed to transform into an alien world at night, where everything was rendered invisible in the inky gloom. The Leedsicthys' corpse floated silently, a beacon to the many predators of the ocean; Liopleurodon included. Drew and Cynthia kept their guards up, not wanting to be attacked by something by accident. Suddenly, they noticed something moving in the gloom. Something huge. Drew shined his headtorch to see a Liopleurodon swim into the light.

Whilst it was smaller than the giant they'd encountered in the shallows, it was still incredibly large; with a head almost six feet long, it was a colossal forty feet from nose to tail. The gigantic pilosaur swam over their heads to feed on the carcass of the giant fish, tearing off massive chunks of flesh with lateral shakes of its head. Suddenly, Drew and Cynthia turned round to see a second Liopleurodon, about the same size, approach the carcass and began to feed. The incumbent ignored the new arrival and resumed feeding on the Leedsichtys carcass. With such a large carcass, normal territorial boundaries were suspended; and the lure of the immediately available meat outweighed attacking these two small creatures.

Meanwhile, on the Mariner… "Guys, there's something coming! Hello? Can ANYONE hear me?!", Jack screamed into the communicator, as Alice and Adrian stood around, looking nervous. The situation was urgent; they needed to warn Drew and Cynthia that a third Liopleurodon, presumably the incredibly large one they had previously encountered, had been detected on the radar, heading directly towards them. However, the storm was blocking their communications. The three looked at each other, worried ; hopefully, they'd get the message.

Back in the water, the Liopleurodon were still occupied with the carcass. Drew and Cynthia swam incredibly close to the cadaver of the giant fish; big mistake. Suddenly, the two Liopleurodon turned to regard the tiny creatures. Out of curiosity, they approached these newcomers to their meal; as the Liopleurodon got closer and closer, Drew told Cynthia, "I have a plan for this, I just need you to hold them off somehow…" Suddenly, Cynthia pulled a cord on her suit and a red fluid floated into the water; from the Liopleurodon's recoiling at the liquid, Drew guessed that it had been the putrescene they put in the suit.

As the two Liopleurodon retreated, Drew activated the portal directly into their swimming path; the two giant pilosaurs, barely even regarding the gleaming orb, swam through the portal. Suddenly, Jack's voice rang into the communicator, "Drew?! Drew! There's another Liopleurodon coming; I think it's the big one we saw before!" Drew smiled and said, "Perfect! I was hoping he'd show up"; now they could have three Liopleurodon for the price of one. Jack's voice rang back, the urgency clear in his voice, "Fearless leader, I vote you get to the surface now; the storm's getting worse. We don't want you dying." Drew paused and muttered, "Fine", into the communicator and he and Cynthia swam to the surface for pick-up. As they headed to the surface, Drew looked down to see a large, dark shape swimming towards the dead Leedsicthys.

After Drew and Cynthia returned to the boat, they sailed the Mariner into a nearby, shallow cove and anchored it firmly; there, it could sit out the storm without being destroyed. The four adventurers sat in the crew rooms and hunkered down for the night, as the storm raged around them.


	49. The Cruel Sea Part 5

As they pulled into the cove, they noticed that the waves were beginning to ride higher up the beach and white spray had gathered over the corals. Silt and sand drawn up from the bottom had turned the water opaque. Jack sighed, looking at the weather outside, "Anyone wanna play some poker?" Alice sighed, "I'm game" and Adrian nodded, "Me too." Outside, the rain swiped at the trees and the waves rode up between the podocarps, tearing up the ferns and club moss and draping them over the lower branches. Every creature on the island that could not swim had headed for higher ground, in order to sit out the storm. Out to sea, the waves rolled across the coral, plucking at the sea creatures, some of whom were clung to rocks, whilst others had headed to deeper parts, jetting frantically back and forth to hold themselves in place.

It was a bad storm and continued to pound the shallow sea for the rest of the night. The next day, the team climbed out of the Mariner and gasped at what they saw. The small island was a mess. The sea had swept almost the entire understorey away, piling it up in large, rotting heaps. The lower parts of the tree were festooned with a mixture of ferns, seaweed and the occasional piece of coral. Along the top of the beaches, dead pterosaurs lay crumpled up, alongside dead ammonites and stranded fish. Jack snapped out of his open-mouthed shock to ask, "What's the plan, fearless leader?" Drew turned to the assembled team, "Adrian, you're with me. The rest of you, stay with the boat and try and find the Opthalmosaurus pups; we'll radio you if we find anything."

Drew and Adrian walked along the ruined beach, looking at the battered island as they did; as their feet squelched under a festering layer of destroyed plants, they walked past rows of dead fish, ammonites and pterosaurs, casualties of the 400mph winds. Suddenly, one of the Rhamphorynchus moved weakly; it was still alive! After a few seconds, it groggily lifted its head and attempted to right itself; but failed. Adrian gently picked up the weakened creature; it's breathing was ragged and shallow and its eyes looked at the two humans in an almost tired stupor. Adrian looked, scared, at Drew, "We need to get him back to the boat; if we don't get him back to the park, he's going to die." Drew nodded, "Take him back to the boat and get him stable; I'm going onwards, see what I can find."

Meanwhile, back on the boat… "Well, that was easy", Jack remarked, "Drew tells us to look for the Opthalmosaurus pups and there they are, right below us. They've all congregated too; perfect opportunity, don't you think?" Alice and Cynthia.

After donning their diving suits, Jack, Alice and Cynthia swam through the reef, in search of the baby Opthalmosaurus. Finding the pups wasn't difficult… catching them was. Whenever they got within close range of a few, they would scatter, darting away into the caverns and tunnels of the coral reef. Jack shrugged; he'd warned them beforehand about the difficulties. Without other options, Alice got the bait bag and began emptying it into the water. As the Opthalmosaurus pups approached it, Jack activated the portal, with the Opthalmosaurus pups heading through into the present, moving as if a single, unified entity.

As they got back to the boat, suited off and got to the control room to see if there were any updates from Drew, they had a big surprise; they saw Adrian, holding the crumpled, but still breathing, body of a small pterosaur. Lifting the broken creature as gently as he could, Adrian said "Help him. Please, help him."

With Adrian back at the boat, Drew was resuming his search. Suddenly, he paused to realise something; a pungent smell was blowing up the beach from the south, he estimated. That was not the last of his surprises; a few seconds later, a Eustreptospondylus walked out from the destroyed trees, walking in the approximate direction of the scent. Drew followed the theropod as it stalked towards the source of the scent; as it crossed the headland, the source of the smell became apparent.

Lying, with his tail in the water and most of his body on the shore, was the giant male Liopleurodon. His breathing was thick and laboured, as he weakly swung his nine-foot head and tried to shift his flipper. He only moved a few inches. He had become confused during the storm and run aground; it was unlikely he would make it back into the sea and he would have a very short time to live. Not only would his lungs collapse under the pressure, but in the warmth of the sun, his body temperature was soaring. The Eustreptospondylus creeped slowly forward towards the Liopleurodon and Drew glimpsed two more lurking in the bushes. With a prize like this, the usual hierarchy was irrelevant.

All three Eustreptospondylus surrounded the Liopleurodon like undertakers, waiting for the giant to die; intoxicated by the presence of 20 tonnes of meat. Suddenly, the Liopleurodon lifted his mighty head and roared weakly at them. The Eustreptospondylus let out surprised hisses and turned to run back into the bushes; whilst the giant was dying, it could still kill any one of them. As they scurried into the bushes, Drew activated the portal directly in their path and the theropods dived through. Drew turned to the beached giant; how would he get this through? He needed help.

Meanwhile, on the Mariner, the crew were getting Keehar stable when Drew's voice suddenly echoed through the radio, "Hello? Can anyone hear me?". Jack got to the radio first and replied, "What's up, fearless leader? We've got the Opthalmosaurus pups and a pretty badly hurt Rhamphorynchus that Adrian-". Drew's voice cut him off, "I know about that. You know that big male Liopleurodon we saw. He's beached; must have run aground during the storm. If we don't get him back to the park soon, he's going to die." Jack looked flabbergasted, "What do you want us to do?" After a pause, Drew said, "Simple…."

Ten minutes later, the Ancient Mariner turned into the cove where Drew had found the giant Liopleurodon. Drew looked at the approaching vessel and smiled; he'd told Jack the plan. Now was the time to see if they could implement it; he'd seen it done on beached whales. As the boat pulled forward, Jack threw down a corset-like sleeve, which Drew attached to the winch, before wrapping it around the Liopleurodon's tail. For good measure, he wrapped a large belt around its neck. He climbed back onto the boat and gave the thumbs up. The boat pulled away, taking the Liopleurodon with it, and moved slowly into the cove. As it entered shallow water, Drew activated the portal and the Mariner – and its reptilian passenger – sailed through, into the present.

At the park, Kyle looked over the new species rescued; he was the only head of staff at the portal site. Linda and Khatin were with the Postosuchus, whilst Nikolai was, apparently, with Leon, observing some weird project involving the allosaurs. Hopefully, Drew would be back soon with the Mariner… Suddenly the communicator rang; a message from Drew. It read "Bringing something big back with us"; Kyle, confused, stared at the enigmatic message and exclaimed irritably, "What the hell is he trying to say"?" The portal suddenly flared to life and the Ancient Mariner sailed through, with a large, black-and-white marine reptile attached to the winch, its neck, flippers and tail braced. Kyle sighed, "OK, now I've seen everything." He took a deep breath, lifted his radio and said, "Everyone? Drew's back; and he's decided to surprise us…" .

After a while, everyone was at home. The marine reptiles had been transferred to their new accommodation in the aquarium. It was decided that the Cryptoclidus and Opthalmosaurus could share a tank, since they were both fish-eaters and unlikely to harm each other; they were either swimming around or basking on the rocks in a large, dome building that had been named the Coast. The Metriorynchus and Hybodus were also sharing a tank; it was decided that they probably would not pose much threat to each other. The ammonites were being kept in a nearby exhibit; they were swimming around their new home, waiting to be fed. The five Liopleurodon were being kept in a gigantic exhibit in Hell's Oceans; the two adolescents in one, the two adults in another and the gigantic adult male, who had been named Thanatos, being kept in the largest tank of all. They were currently swimming around their new territories, waiting to be fed. The Rhamphorynchus were all put into a large aviary with a large pool, stocked with fish for them to eat. The one Adrian had found after the storm, who had been named Keehar, was currently undergoing treatment in the vet offices. The Eustreptospondylus had been provided a large beach area to roam in Mesozoic Tropics.

However, everyone was at the allosaur paddock in Theropod Kingdom. This was the place where they were going to see a test run of Leon's plan; all Leon had stated was that it involved the allosaurs and would be very important for the park's future. Drew, Cynthia, Jack, Alice, Kyle and Nikolai were all waiting outside the pen to see what he had planned. "So Leon wants to use the allosaurs for something?" Cynthia asked, before rolling her eyes, "Well, that's the end of him". "Hey! Give him a chance, alright?!", Jack said to her, angrily. Alice shrugged, "I wouldn't count him out just yet; we'll have to see it first. Besides, Nikolai gave it his approval; it must work." All Kyle had to say, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Leon walked out onto the platform, smiling. Leon yelled to a nearby keeper, "Open the gate!" The gate opened and a dinosaur-shaped lure, which for some reason had been painted bright purple, zipped out. Shortly after, three gates opened and the three young male allosaurs emerged, diving after the lure. Leon, using a remote control, moved the lure into the enclosure at high speed. The allosaurs dived after the lure, following it. Eventually, Leon turned the lure into a wall, allowing the allosaurs to corner their "prey". Everyone waited with bated breath; what did Leon have planned for this moment. The young male Drogon took a few steps, jaws open, towards it when, suddenly…. A piercing whistle-blast echoed through the air. The allosaurs stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him. Leon threw them each a piece of meat. Everyone cheered.

As Leon walked towards the assembled throng, the first person to greet him was Jack, who shook his hand and said, "Congratulations, buddy." Leon smiled in response and looked at everyone else and said, "Well?". Everyone looked at each other, before Drew addressed Leon, "Leon, I'm sorry I doubted you. This plan of yours seems pretty interesting; is it why you couldn't go on the mission today?". Leon smiled, nodded and said, "Yes. I felt like we had to put some measures in to protect the park. We're going to be bringing back things that make allosaurs look like geckos; having big, powerful apex predators on our side tips the balance in our favour. If something big and dangerous breaks out in the future, we can use them to stop it. One day, we're going to need them."

There was a brief pause, whilst everyone digested the implications, before Jack looked, first at Drew and then at everyone and said, "Well, fearless leader, I'm certainly convinced. Anyone else?" Drew breathed out and addressed Leon, "Yeah, I agree. Leon, I give you my full support." Everyone else nodded; Leon's little speech had convinced them. Even if nothing bad happened in the future… it never hurt to be prepared, right?

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth, the team goes back to the Early Cretaceous**

 **(an Tapejara squawks at them)**

 **Where they meet giants of the land**

 **(Drew, Cynthia and Leon stand by an injured sauropod)**

 **And sky**

 **(A large pterosaur flies by a plane)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Age of Giants!**

Animals rescued:

Liopleurodon ferox: 5 (3 males, 2 females)

Cryptoclidus eurymerus: 9 (5 males, 4 females)

Ophthalmosaurus icenicus: 32 (13 males, 19 females)

Rhamphorhynchus muensteri: 34 (17 males, 17 females)

Eustreptospondylus oxoniensis: 6 (3 males, 3 females)

Perisphinctes plicatilis: 69 (32 males, 37 females)

Leedsichthys problematicus: 6 (3 males, 3 females)

Hybodus houtienensis: 12 (5 males, 7 females)

Metriorhynchus geoffroyii: 6 (2 males, 4 females)


	50. Age of Giants Part 1

The start of a new life.

Cracks began to splinter across the surface of the egg, It shook ever so slightly as the tiny creature inside fought to get out, thrashing against the brittle shell. Eventually, the cracks widened and widened, before shattering as the top of the egg was finally pushed away. The infant's slender neck unfurled as it broke the sac of viscous liquid that had kept it alive thus far.

The newly hatched dinosaur raised its head, feeling the warmth of the Cretaceous sun on its scales. Tentatively, it took its first ever look at the outside world, squinting against a sudden, intruding brightness. It struggled to focus its new eyes, to take in the desolate plains that stretched out under a brooding, stormy sky.

And that is where our story begins.

At Prehistoric Earth, construction crews were all over the place, constructing an incredibly large building; one that seemed big enough to house every single one of Prehistoric Earth's dinosaurs, with some crowding. In the distance, Kyle was barking orders at the workmen, like a drill sergeant, "Make sure that these walls are as strong as they can get! We don't want to take any chances!" Suddenly, a Jeep drove up the hill and Drew Luczynski got out. Smiling, he walked up to Kyle and asked, "How's the hurricane shelter going?" Kyle nodded, "Good, good; should be done pretty soon."

After both the tropical storm in the Jurassic and a realisation of where they were, it was decided that a hurricane shelter be built, to shelter the dinosaurs in case the island was ever hit by on. Drew smiled and said, "You might have to make it a bit bigger." Kyle raised an eyebrow and said "Why?" Drew, still smiling, said, "Because, today, I'm bringing back some of our biggest dinosaurs yet!" Kyle facepalmed; of course he was. Drew, seemingly unaware of his head keeper's dismay, added "Oh, and you'll also need to expand the aviary; it's not just giant land animals I'm after". Kyle facepalmed; of course he was. Drew turned round and walked back to the Jeep, lifting his walkie-talkie to call his team.

At the allosaur enclosure, Leon was continuing his work with Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. In the month since he had begun his training programme, he had successfully whistle-trained them. Today, he was working on training them so that they could respond to verbal commands. Leon, using a remote control, moved a dinosaur-shaped lure into the enclosure at high speed. As usual, the three allosaurs dived after the lure, pursuing it wherever it went. Eventually, Leon turned the lure into a wall, allowing the allosaurs to corner their "prey". The young male Drogon took a few steps, jaws open, towards it when, suddenly…. Leon yelled "Drogon, leave it!". Drogon stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. Whilst this was happening, the young male Rhaegal advanced towards the lure, before Leon yelled, "Rhaegal, I see you! Eyes on me." In response to this statement, Viserion hissed, to which Leon responded with "Viserion, don't give me that shit! Stand down." After the three allosaurs hesitated for a few minutes, Leon threw them each a piece of meat; it was imperative that they be rewarded for, instead of immediately attacking the lure, to stop when he gave a verbal command. Suddenly, his walkie-talkie hissed into life and he picked it up, "What's up, Drew? There's another mission? Alright, the training session's finished anyway; I'll see you there in ten minutes".

Meanwhile, at Hell's Oceans, Jack was helping the vets check up on Thanatos, the big male Liopleurodon. Despite worries, the sixty-foot pilosaur had proven rather tolerant of the humans capering around his massive body, allowing the vets to give him a general health check. Jack turned to Yolanda and asked, "So, how is he?" Yolanda smiled and looked at Jack, "For the most part, he's getting better; he's gaining weight, the wounds on his stomach have healed and his physical condition has radically improved than from when you guys found him." With the check-up done, the divide on the holding tank was opened, allowing Thanatos to re-enter his tank.

As the sixty-foot pilosaur glided elegantly through the water, Jack was reminded of the other purpose of his visit; give Thanatos his morning feed. This was partly a training mechanism; Thanatos would associate swimming into his holding tank when a shift signal came with a food reward. Since he was their biggest predator thus far, Jack had to use a crane to drop a whole cow carcass in the water. Suddenly, a pair of nine-foot, crocodilian jaws grabbed the cow carcass, seconds after it landed, dragging it down to eat. Watching this, Jack chuckled, "Enjoy your breakfast, big guy." Suddenly, his walkie-talkie hissed into life and he picked it up, "What's up, fearless leader? There's another mission? Alright, we're done with Thanatos anyway; I'll see you there in five minutes".

At the Eustreptospondylus enclosure, Adrian was getting ready to feed the mid-sized theropods. Given the Eustreptospondylus' ecological niche as scavengers, some leftover meat from the other carnivores' meals had been thrown in the mix; the Eustreptospondylus were proving to be the perfect garbage disposals. Waste not, want not, he supposed. The benefits of this system were double; it not only fed the less fussy carnivores (the Eustreptospondylus, Coelophysis and Postosuchus), it also disposed of rotting meat (so long as it wasn't diseased) that might, otherwise, contaminate the other meat in the storeroom. Adrian dumped the meat into the Eustreptospondylus' enclosure, and the six carnivores dived on it, eagerly tearing it apart. As he was watching the spectacle, Adrian's walkie-talkie hissed into life. Raising it, he said "Hey Drew; what's going on? Another mission? I'm done with the Eustreptospondylus and I'm heading off now; I'll be there in a few minutes."

At Mesozoic Safaris, Alice had been called down with some of the security personnel in order to break up a territorial dispute between the Stegosaurus and Plateosaurus herds over the same spot on the watering hole. In case things came to worse, the security personnel were on standby with hosepipes to keep the dinosaurs away from each other. The dominant male plateosaur swished his arms from side to side, brandishing his massive claws. In response to this, the matriarch stegosaur stamped her foot, swished her spiky tail and bellowed at the plateosaurs. Eventually, the plateosaurs backed off, in the face of the larger, well-armoured herbivores. Alice sighed; this sort of thing had been going on for quite a while. Suddenly, her walkie-talkie hissed into life; she raised it and said, "Hey Drew; what's going on? Another mission? I'm heading off now; should be there in five minutes."

Not far away, Cynthia was helping train a Brachiosaurus. Despite worries, the giant sauropod had performed rather well; she blew a whistle and it had moved into its feeding stall. Cynthia tossed it some fern leaves as a reward. All the animals in Mesozoic Safaris had gone through similar procedures; making it easier for if they had to be transported for some reason (say, into the newly built hurricane shelter. The mechanism used was simple; the animals would associate moving into the holding pen when a shift signal came with a food reward. Suddenly, her walkie-talkie hissed into life. She raised it and said, "Boss?… Oh, hey, Drew! Another mission? On my way."

Ten minutes later, Drew was sitting in his office, along with Leon, Adrian, Jack and Alice, all of whom were bored. Leon was calmly flipping through the journal, Jack was looking at the celling (for no discernible reason) and tapping his feet impatiently, Alice was looking at her watch, whilst Adrian was looking out of the window. Suddenly, a voice sarcastically noted, "Well, I'm glad to see you starting without me". They turned to see Cynthia walking towards them, a smug expression on her face. "Where were you?", an puzzled Jack asked, "You were supposed to be here five minutes ago". In response, she rolled her eyes and replied, "I needed to talk to someone, s'all. Anyway, what are we going after?"

Drew looked at her suspiciously and cleared his throat, ""The Early Cretaceous was the age of giants" Drew explained, flicking through pages of the file, "with some of the largest animals ever to live, in both the land and the air existing". He briefly paused and continued, "For this mission, we are splitting the team; Cynthia and Leon are coming with me", he gestured to them, "to Argentina, 100 million years ago, to go after Argentinosaurus. Whereas you three", he gestured to Jack, Alice and Adrian, "are going to Brazil, 127 million years ago". He then proceeded to hand them a small journal and a remote. "As you know, you use the journal to identify any animals you see and, of course, you have a portal remote. You've also been given a small Cessna plane; that's at the portal site. Be careful and remember; no species left behind." Jack, Alice and Adrian gave him puzzled looks and Jack said "Boss… Why do we have a plane?" In response, Drew smiled knowingly and stated, "Oh, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."

As Jack, Alice and Adrian left, Cynthia turned to Drew, "Are we sure leaving Jack in charge is a good idea?" Leon said, "I'd say he's done pretty damn well on the last couple of missions; also, why is it any of your concern?" Cynthia shrugged and said, rather enigmatically, "He lost the communicator on the last mission; also, he was feeding the Coelophysis before their escape and he didn't report a system error." Drew gave Cynthia and Leon a look, "I'm confident he can handle things; end of discussion."

At the portal site, an employee entered the first time period and location and the portal flared to life at the push of a button. After the portal's location and time had been entered. Drew put the portal remote in his pocket and, after making sure the remote was secured , he turned to Leon and Cynthia, who nodded at him. He nodded in turn, and they entered through the portal.

Afterwards, it was the Brazil team's turn. After the portal's location and time had been entered and the Cessna had been transported through the portal, Jack put the portal remote in his pocket and secured it. He turned to Alice and Adrian, who both gave him a thumbs-up. Jack returned their gestures and smiled at them and they went through the gleaming portal.

As they exited the portal, the team looked around to see where they had emerged and the sight was breath-taking. The white Cessna stood parked near them, as they looked out over a landscape of rocky outcrops and low-growing plants. The smell of salt on the wind indicated they'd emerged near the coast. Jack, Alice and Adrian chuckled; it looked like, of all things, the Isle of Skye. At the end of the long headland, they saw a large granite outcrop, jutting out into the deep blue of the ocean. Almost inaudibly, they could hear the honking cries of distant pterosaurs, coming from the granite outcrop. The team smiled at each other; they knew that was their first stop.

For the Argentina team conversely, the first thing that hit the three adventurers was the heat; whilst it wasn't as oppressive as the Jurassic drought, it was still pretty hot. They looked around and saw a large lake, with a small, patchy forest of cycads and conifer trees by it. Cynthia looked around, muttering "So where should we start?". "We look for signs of Argentinosaurus", Leon replied, "I reckon we sit by the lake and wait; on dry plains, watering holes are important." Drew breathed out and looked out at the near featureless vista, before turning back to look at his team. He noticed Leon and Cynthia both looking at him, eyes widened. Even more confusingly. they both took a step backwards, slowly and quietly. "Drew…", Leon muttered in shattered tones. Drew stared at them, confused; why were they acting so weirdly? Suddenly, he heard a low, throaty growl, Cynthia yelling at him to get down, before he felt her tackling him to the floor.


	51. Age of Giants Part 2

Drew heard Cynthia cry out his name and tackle him to the floor. Drew looked at her, confused, "What on Earth did you do that for?" His question was answered when, suddenly, he heard a throaty growl. Following the noise, he turned to see the visage of the largest crocodile he had ever seen; from nose to tail, it must have been thirty feet long. Its head was about five feet long, with a long, narrow snout, a mouth filled with large, pointed teeth, and a rounded bulb-like structure at the end of the nose, like a gharial. Its twenty-five-foot long body was covered in sandy yellow scales, with slightly darker armour plates along its back, ending in an incredibly long, powerful-looking tail. The crocodile roared at them and stamped its foot; the message that they were not welcome on its turf was clear. After a few minutes, Drew, Cynthia and Leon silently moved away, keeping a respectful distance from the giant. Leon knew what it was immediately. "Sarcosuchus", he whispered, "One of the largest crocodiles that ever lived; there's evidence that it ate dinosaurs."

Suddenly, they heard more growls and snaps coming from the river; three other Sarcosuchus, slightly smaller in size than the giant emerged from the river, curious as to these new arrivals. These were clearly females, whilst the individual that they had encountered was the male; this was a breeding group. Drew, Cynthia and Leon looked at the four crocodilians, formulating plans. How were they going to get this lot back through the portal? It was clear that they were not going to move any time soon, and approaching them would probably be pretty risky.

However, their territoriality gave Drew an idea. "Leon, grab the air horn", he said. Leon looked at him, puzzled and said "Why?". Drew smiled and said "Trust me". Leon's eyes widened in realisation and, grabbing the air horn, he began blaring it at the Sarcosuchus. The gigantic crocodilians, their attention turned to the three humans, let out low, indignant bellows at them. As, the four Sarcosuchus charged through the portal, into the present. Shortly after this, Drew's communicator rang. Picking it up, Drew said "Hello?", before turning to Cynthia and Leon and saying "It's Jack."

Meanwhile, in Brazil, Jack, Adrian and Alice had reached the outcrop. It looked more impressive in close-up. Over thousands of years, erosion had carved the dark rock into a series of spectacular pinnacles. Hundreds of small pinnacles were mounted on taller outcrops, which in turn built onto the highest rocks, towering into the air. Among the rocks, large blowholes periodically sent spouts of water up among the pinnacles. The waves made a constant dull booming as they rushed along the tunnels and caves carved out beneath the mountains.

As they approached, the pinnacles erupted into life. Several hundred medium-sized pterosaurs were sitting on the rocks, letting out loud, cawing cries, like a crow. Each pterosaur was covered in short, black fur, with a fifteen-foot wingspan; however, what made them unique was their crests. In the males, a hard sail of bone and keratin arose almost three feet above each's head. Each male was vigorously displaying to the smaller females, with smaller crests. Jack, Alice and Adrian looked at each other; they knew this was Tapejara. How were they going to get this lot through the portal?

Suddenly, a lone pterosaur appeared, gliding effortlessly on the updraft from the waves, slipping from one swell to another with no perceptible movement of its wings. As it moved closer, Jack, Alice and Adrian could discern aspects of its features. The newcomer was light grey on top with a black, flecked pattern breaking up its outline. It had a long yellow beak, with interlocking, conical teeth and a wide, keel-like crest on the end. However, its most distinctive feature was its size. From wing tip to wing tip, its wingspan must have been forty feet long. The Tapejara were fairly large themselves, but the new arrival made them look tiny.

The Tapejara were getting nervous; their calls becoming more and more frantic as the newcomer passed over them. It paid them no attention, before veering elegantly towards a wide-open shelf area behind the outcrop. The giant stalled its flight and hung, briefly, in the air before it pulled in its wings like a bat and rolled over and lifted itself up on its little wing claws. It looked back at the chaos of the Tapejara displaying area before giving out a series of low, throaty clicks. Jack, Alice and Adrian looked at each other; they all knew this was Ornithocheirus.

Jack raised his communicator, "Drew, we've found a giant Ornithocheirus. Is he something to do with why we have the Cessna?" Drew's voice crackled in from the other side, "Bingo! Before he started planning the missions, Theodore scouted out everywhere he wanted to go and observed the animals intently. He found that Ornithocheirus, no matter where they are, head to an island called Cantabria to breed. Put a tracker on him and you can follow him there." Alice snuck up to the gigantic pterosaur and, quietly as she could, attached a small tracer on his left ankle. The Ornithocheirus turned round, reared to his full intimidating height and hissed at her, but, after she ran back to Jack and Adrian, he ignored her.

That done, they turned their attention to the Tapejara. Using bait and recordings of their calls, they were able to lure some of the Tapejara through the portal. After the first few, they got a bit risky; Adrian nearly slipped off a geyser luring a male through the portal. They continued with this for an hour, until they had sent a sufficient amount of the pterosaurs through the portal, after which they returned to watch the Ornithocheirus.

After several hours, the Ornithocheirus rocked back on his legs and extended his wings, flicking out his long wing fingers. In an instant, he leant into the breeze and gracefully jumped off the granite shelf. He immediately started to climb, rising above the remaining Tapejara as he banked into a tight circle and soared higher and higher.

Jack, Alice and Adrian rushed back to the Cessna and go it ready for take-off. As Jack took the wheel and the plane's engine whirred into life, they recapped where they were; they could track the Ornithocheirus' every movement and the Cessna could maintain his pace. The chase had begun.

With Jack, Alice and Adrian on the chase, Drew, Leon and Cynthia were now searching along the lake. After a talk, they had decided to use the lake as a base camp; on dry plains, watering holes were important. They were searching around the lake for signs of Argentinosaurus. However, as of now, they were unsuccessful. However, this all changed when, on the lake's north shore, the team found something. The landscape on the western shore of the lake was pockmarked with holes; holes that had been dug and reburied continually over time. Reaching into the nearest, Drew, Cynthia and Leon found large eggshells; judging from the fragments each egg was probably about the size of a grapefruit. Leon knew what they were immediately, "These are Argentinosaurus eggs! They must use the lake as a nesting site!"

Cynthia cocked her head, "So we just stay here and wait until they arrive?" Leon briefly paused and said, "Ah. There might be one problem with that; the nesting season might have passed." Drew looked at both Cynthia and Leon and said, "If that's the case, we search round the immediate area for any signs of Argentinosaurus; if we don't find anything, we return to the lake. For this we'll split up; one of us will take a glider, whilst the other two will take the Jeep."

Leon said, almost immediately, "I'll take the glider and you guys can take the Jeep". Drew raised his eyebrows curiously, "Why?" Leon's reply was almost inaudible, "Because I'm sick of being the third wheel." After saying that Leon went to get the glider, whilst Drew and Cynthia got the Jeep ready. The search had begun.


	52. Age of Giants Part 3

Leon had launched the glider and, after using its propeller for a short distance, was now soaring through the air, scanning the ground for giant sauropods. He wasn't that high up; objects below weren't all but invisible specks, but it was high enough he felt isolated from the world. He smiled at that thought. The solitude was helpful. The solitude got him thinking.

He, Drew and Adrian went back a long time; they 'd first met in 8th grade biology, over 10 years ago. They'd formed a little trio since then; Leon smiled at the memory. He hadn't had much friends for a long time, so their companionship had really helped. However, Drew had always been the golden boy, the knight in shining armour; Drew had been on the debating team, had straight A's and was a popular student. Even after they'd graduated, success after success had come to Drew; well, he was now co-ordinating the Prehistoric Earth project. Leon, on the other hand, had always been the sidekick; the follower, the hanger-on. Now, Leon cared about Drew deeply… but it wasn't hard to be a little jealous. It left him feeling slightly inadequate; like he was playing second fiddle.

When Jack had called him a hanger-on all the way back in the Devonian mission, he'd got angry; not in the way one was angry when one was called a baseless insult, but when one was angry about being told a truth about themselves they were resentful of. Especially by someone he didn't like; he'd found Jack way too extroverted for his tastes. Leon chortled at the memory; he used to hate Jack. Now, he kind of liked him.

Leon sighed. Fact was, when Leon had been hired, many thought he was a walking textbook and not up to the task required. The Megalograptus and Anomalocaris incidents had only strengthened everyone's conviction; on a mission, someone had to be there keep Leon out of trouble.

On the Devonian mission, Drew had asked him to stay on the boat with Jack to keep him out of trouble. Alice had gone on the dive instead of him on the Triassic Switzerland mission in order to keep him on the Mariner and out of trouble. Drew had chosen Leon to accompany him on both the Jurassic mission and this one to keep him out of trouble.

Anyway. Eyes on the prize. He looked down to see a herd of ornithopod dinosaurs, probably Macogryphosaurus, roaming on the ground. He lifted his walkie-talkie and said, "Guys…"

Meanwhile, Jack, Alice and Adrian were continuing their chase of the Ornithocheirus when they reached land. According to the map, this was where the southeastern states of North America would be today. The sea they were flying past was what would one day become Florida.

They looked out of the window to see a herd of large dinosaurs was walking along the coastline. Each was about twenty feet long, with a horse-like head tipped with a beak, small forelimbs and large, muscular hind limbs. Their bodies were striped brown and white, with a white underside. Accompanying them were a pair of slightly smaller armoured dinosaurs, about sixteen feet long. Their most notable features were the huge, thick spikes that covered their bodies; even the tail had blade-like plates jutting sideways on it. Their armour was sandy brown and white with a tan underbelly and brown stripes on the legs.

Adrian looked through the info-packs and found out what they were, "Iguanadon and Polacanthus. Very common herbivores here, apparently. Do you think we should stop and see if we can get them through the portal?" Jack shook his head, "Priority A is 'keep tabs on the Ornithocheirus'; we can't really afford to have any detours. Besides, the sun's going down soon; it'll be difficult finding anything in the dark. Make a note; as soon as we have time we're going back." The plane cut through the air, as raindrops landed on the cockpit window.

Meanwhile, Drew and Cynthia's Jeep was trundling through the Argentine scrub, in search of giant sauropods… unfortunately, they'd been rather elusive. Suddenly, a loud, honking bellow echoed through the landscape. Cynthia stopped the jeep and they looked at each other; did sauropods make a honking sound? None of the ones at the park did; however, Argentinosaurus might have been different. Drew and Cynthia turned to the direction of the sound and saw, not an Argentinosaurus, but a herd of ornithopods rushing towards them. Each was about twenty feet and was running on its hind legs. Their bodies were a greyish-green colour with brown and black markings patterned across the side and back and black markings on the arms and legs. Two powerful hind legs and a large, powerful tail balanced the rather small arms, the long neck and a comparatively small head. Each had wattles running down the throat.

Drew and Cynthia looked at each other; these weren't Argentinosaurus, but this wasn't an opportunity they were going to pass up. Quickly, they began to set up the portal in the direction towards which the herd were stampeding. Then, Drew pressed the button on the remote and the entire herd charged through the portal, into the present.

Shortly after, the glider landed near the Jeep and Leon got out. Leon said, "By the way, there's a herd of Macogryphosaurus heading directly towards… oh, never mind. Did you guys find any argens?" Drew shook his head, "No. Did you see any Argentinosaurus from the glider?" Leon sighed, "Didn't find anything. So, what's the plan?" Drew sighed and said, "We head back to the lake and set up camp for the evening."

Meanwhile, Jack, Alice and Adrian were in trouble. As the day had worn on, grey and white clouds had built up in the sky; these were storm clouds. Then the rain had begun, first as a simple drizzle. The plane had simply flown on, with Jack, Alice and Adrian deciding to land as soon as the Ornithocheirus did. Unfortunately, they were regretting that decision, as they were now trapped in a huge tropical storm

The small Cessna was struggling to stay airborne in gale-force winds and a downpour so heavy that immediate visibility was reduced to near zero. "So, what's the plan?", Alice said, indignantly, as another gale-force wind buffeted the Cessna, "If we stay like this for a bit longer, we're going to crash! We can't fly in these conditions!" Jack turned to her and said, "Don't worry. I'll do an emergency landing." Adrian gave him an incredulous look, "How do you know how to do an emergency landing?" Jack looked sheepish, "Read the manual."

With that out of the way, Jack turned to the controls; first thing to do was maintain best glide speed; that was about 70 knots. After making sure the plane was on that speed, he needed to find a place to land. Scanning the ground was difficult in the rainstorm, but eventually, he found the perfect place; an overhang on the cliff big enough for the plane and sheltered from wind and waves, a perfect landing spot. Now all he needed to do…

Jack turned to his passengers, "Thirty-second warning, guys…. Hold on to your butts." Alice curiously stated, "What do you-", before the plane was suddenly veered into the wind; Jack had pulled the throttle as far as he could (yellow on the airspeed indicator), gaining the airspeed necessary for a quick spiral down to the ground. As they approached the overhang and the rocks below, he suddenly, pulled the yoke to the right, causing the aircraft to veer towards the biggest possible entrance, whilst adjusting the pitch so they were veering horizontally. Eventually, Jack decreased the speed and quietly slipped into the overhang, gracefully landing the plane in the overhang.

Adrian and Alice got out, laughing hysterically, as Jack hopped out the cockpit, with a little smirk on his face. Alice walked up to her brother and gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder, "Don't you bloody do that again without telling us?!" Suddenly, they and Adrian burst out laughing, before they were suddenly quietened by a bovine-sounding grunt. They turned to see the entire herd of Appalachian Iguanadon and Polacanthus standing in the cave come in to sit out the storm.

Jack smiled at this image and turned to his team. "Whole herd just standing there? Perfect opportunity. The Ornithocheirus isn't going anywhere; we have time", he whispered. Adrian said, equally as quiet, "You've got a plan?" Jack smirked deviously, "You bet your life I do."

A large bag of cycad leaves that they'd brought along as bait for any herbivorous dinosaurs they might encounter on the way was emptied on the trail leading to where the portal would be active. The herbivorous dinosaurs followed the trail and, when they'd got close enough, Alice activated the portal. The whole herd walked through the portal, moving as if a unified entity into the present. When the last one had gone through, Alice shut off the portal. "Right", she said, "So what do we do now?" Jack sighed and said, "We sit out the storm until it clears up. Anyone wanna play some poker?" Alice sighed, "I'm game" and Adrian nodded, "Me too."

It was a bad storm and continued to pound the shallow sea for the rest of the night. The next day, Jack. Alice and Adrian got the plane ready and flew out again. As they did, they noticed their target, the Ornithocheirus, launch himself from a nearby cliff and fly past, eventually gliding alongside them. As he did, they noticed something different about him, "Look at his bill", Alice said, "It's changed colour." And she was right; the rims of his two beak crests were stained with dark red. Adrian turned to her and said, "It's probably a change for the mating season; some male birds today do something similar. Now we know pterosaurs did it, too."

Back in South America, they had returned to the lake and set up camp; the next morning, Drew had gone out on a solo trek to see if anything had changed over night. Suddenly ,he heard a loud, honking bellow; a Macogryphosaurus. He followed the source of the noises into a forest clearing; there, he found the source of the noises.

It was a Macogryphosaurus, with horrific injuries on its side and leg; it was like something had tried to tear a chunk out of it. Drew's mind shuddered at the predator powerful enough to do something like that.

Suddenly, he squinted to see a large, dark shape move stealthily through the trees. It was moving so fast, it was practically a blur. He could tell that it was some sort of large bipedal dinosaur, but the trees broke up its outline and no other features were discernible. The injured dinosaur bellowed its loud, honking call at the retreating predator. Drew looked at the animal, with a pang of sympathy; he knew one thing, from the horrific wounds on its side.

It was going to die if it stayed here.

Drew quickly activated the portal and coaxed the injured ornithopod through it. Using the communicator, he sent a message to the veterinary department about an injured ornithopod. Once he had done that, he decided to follow the direction where the predator had been headed.

After a few minutes, he blundered into another clearing; and immediately regretted it. In the clearing was a Macogryphosaurus, dead. It was dead at the feet of an enormous theropod dinosaur; so big it made the allosaurs look tiny. The creature raised its head and turned to look at the human.

Drew gulped; perhaps this hadn't been a good idea after all…


	53. Age of Giants Part 4

Drew stood, rooted to the spot as the theropod before him scanned the clearing; he did not want this gigantic predator to notice him. He breathed a sigh of relief when the theropod ignored him and returned to its meal. Now, he could get a look at it in greater detail. The theropod that towered over him looked like a larger, more heavily built version of the Allosaurus back at the park; from head to tail it must have been forty-three feet long. It was dark brown with a tan underbelly, with brown stripes on its arms and legs. Its head was large and powerful looking and a snarl revealed serrated, shark-like teeth. It looked an intimidating sight and, before it, Drew felt as insignificant as a mouse. Drew began to slowly back away from the giant, in the hope that it, occupied with its current kill, wouldn't notice him. Suddenly, the theropod paused and sniffed the air, before turning its head to look at him. Drew went rigid; he'd been found.

The theropod let out a low roar, before turning towards Drew, regarding him with a vicious coldness. It moved, slowly and surely, toward him, its massive strides meaning that it was quickly covering the distance towards him. There was only one sensible thing to do. Run.

He turned and sprinted out of the clearing. The theropod, its prey drive activated, took off after him. Suddenly, Drew's foot hit a rock and he fell, landing on the walkie-talkie. Drew, tired and bruised, turned back to look at his pursuer, now advancing towards him; whilst its average top speed was slower than his, it had a longer stride length. He stood no chance, unless he hid.

He picked up the radio, ran towards a hollow log and dived inside, wedging himself in. As he hid, he saw the theropod's cold yellow eyes staring in and smelt its hot, stinking breath. Fortunately, the theropod, having lost interest, walked off. When he was sure it had gone, Drew picked up the walkie-talkie, switched it ton and said, "Guys, I'm sending you my co-ordinates…" His only response was static. Drew sighed; this meant only one thing, the radio was busted. He must have knocked it when he fell on it. He muttered to himself, "Crap. I'll have to head back to camp…" Suddenly, he heard a loud bellow from a clearing.

Following the bellow, he found a sauropod lying on its belly in a clearing. It was an Argentinosaurus; a male by the looks of it. Despite its enormous size, it probably wasn't even fully grown. It was a strange composite; its front legs were longer and more powerful looking than its back ones and its tail was comparatively short, like the Brachiosaurus, whilst it had a long, low head like the Diplodocus. However, it was much bulkier than any of the other sauropods at the park. Its skin was a tannish green, with a lighter underbelly and stripes on its tail. A small row of iguana-like spikes ran down the middle of its back to he edge of its tail.

Drew looked at the injured behemoth; what was he supposed to do? He couldn't coax the Argentinosaurus back to camp and he couldn't contact his team because his radio was… Suddenly, the radio fizzed into life and a voice echoed from the other end, "Drew?" Drew smiled, "About damn time you guys picked up. Listen, I'm sending you my co-ordinates now. I've found something …"

About half an hour earlier, Leon and Cynthia were waiting at the lakeside camp for Drew. Earlier that day, Drew had said that he was going on a brief reconnaissance around the lake to see if anything had changed overnight; he hadn't been back for four hours. Meanwhile, Leon and Cynthia had gone on the Jeep earlier on a little reconnaissance and had observed a herd of Argentinosaurus headed towards the lake. They had tried to contact Drew about this, but to no avail. Leon put down the radio and screamed, half exasperated and half worried, "He's not answering!" Suddenly, the radio whirred into life and Cynthia picked it up. "Hey, Drew", she said, almost casually, "We saw a herd of argens heading… slow down, slow down, you've found _what_?", her eyes widened, "OK, we're on our way." She put the walkie-talkie down, "Alright, Drew's found something; he's sent us the co-ordinates and he wants us to head there now". As she headed off, she turned and looked at a dumbfounded Leon, "Come on!"

Meanwhile, in the Cessna, Jack, Alice and Adrian were approaching land. After morning in Appalachia, they had followed the Ornithocheirus to cross the Atlantic. After only two hours of flying, they had flown across the Atlantic, about two hours ahead of their target. Jack turned to look at the fuel gauge, "Uh, bad news, guys… we're running out of fuel. We've got fuel to spare, but we'll need to refill." Adrian said, "So what do we do?", to which Jack shrugged, "We land. Fortunately, we have land ahead." Jack turned to look at the island to find a spot to land; all along its western coast, sheer cliffs rose out of the ocean, with the rocks below wave-battered into jagged, black shapes. A coastal landing was impossible. Better to fly inland.

Having landed the Cessna towards the centre of the island and having replaced the fuel, they decided to explore. The island they were standing on would, one-hundred-and-twenty million years hence become the Isle of Wight. They ascended a hill to see a large, dark freshwater lake below them; a magnet for the animals of the island. They looked at each other; if they wanted to bring back additional creatures, this was the place.

As they approached the lake, they realised it well-stocked. A small pterosaur struck the water with its beak and flapped quickly to rise up; in its beak was the silvery glint of a fish. As it flew up, Jack, Alice and Adrian realised it was a male Ornithocheirus; a young one by the looks of it. It was half the size of the giant male they had been pursuing, and the keel-shaped crest on its bill smaller, but still recognisably an Ornithocheirus.

Suddenly, a shadow moved across the ground and Jack, Alice and Adrian looked up to see the giant male Ornithocheirus veering towards the smaller pterosaur as it headed for shore. Showing remarkable agility for his size, the bigger Ornithocheirus swept in front of the adolescent, issuing a series of aggressive hissing. Surprised, the smaller pterosaur dropped the wriggling fish on the beach below and the large male dived to claim it.

In response to what they'd witnessed, Jack shrugged and said, "All's fair in the pursuit of love and lunch, I suppose". His eyes turned to the smaller Ornithocheirus, unsuccessful, landed on a ledge by the shore and he turned to his team, "Aaand, he's just standing there. Perfect opportunity. The big guy isn't going anywhere; we have time", he whispered. Adrian said, equally as quiet, "You've got a plan?" Jack smirked deviously, "You bet your life I do."

As they climbed down onto the ledge, carrying a bag of fish to use as bait, the smaller pterosaur did not notice them. Suddenly, it paused and sniffed the air and turned to look at Jack, Alice and Adrian. Suddenly, a loud bellow echoed from the nearby forest and all creatures turned to look at a herd of dinosaurs heading down to the lake. These were much larger than their North American brethren; the biggest in the herd was about thirty-five feet long and must have weighed about seven tonnes. However, they were less bulky around the neck and they had bigger, more powerful forearms, with longer thumb spikes. Their bodies were a tannish green, with a lighter underbelly and brown stripes along the back and tail. Once again, they were accompanied by a pair of Polacanthus. These were nearly identical to their North American brethren, only duller in colouration; a dull black, with off-white patches, especially on the underbelly and legs.

The smaller Ornithocheirus was transfixed for only a moment, before it dived towards the fish in the bag. This gave Jack the time he needed to throw the bag through the portal and the subadult pterosaur, like a pigeon after a breadcrumb, dived through the portal into the present.

With that out of the way, the three adventurers turned to look at the herd drinking at the lake. Whilst the Iguanodon were drinking without compunction, the Polacanthus were more hesitant, interrupting their drinking to nervously sniff the air. Suddenly, the entire herd went on edge and an Iguanodon turned and sniffed the air, and bellowed a loud, trumpeting call. Suddenly, several bipedal, fast-moving shapes moved stealthily through bushes and the herd became more and more agitated. Jack looked, curiously; there were predators in the bushes, waiting for the opportunity to pounce.

Meanwhile, in South America, Drew, Cynthia and Leon were standing by the wounded Argentinosaurus. When Cynthia and Leon had arrived and informed him about the herd, Leon had also told Drew what the giant carnivore he had encountered was, "Giganotosaurus; one of the largest predators to ever walk the Earth. It hunted giant sauropods like Argentinosaurus; you're lucky to be alive". Having contacted the park, the team had been given medical equipment to patch up the Argentinosaurus' wounds, but all the vehicles capable of transporting him were currently occupied.

Scanning the clearing and pondering the options, Drew addressed his team, "Right, he's not going to be leaving this area anytime soon. Right now, he's clearly too weak to move on his own. And we don't yet have any equipment with us to transport him. So, we're going to stay with him; that might not be a sensible decision", the three humans looked at an enormous three-toed footprint, "and it's certainly going to be a dangerous one."

After a few hours, Drew, Leon and Cynthia moved their camp to around the injured male Argentinosaurus and had settled down for the night. Drew had first watch duty, but it wasn't like anyone was going to sleep soundly; everyone knew that other creatures could be drawn by the prospect of an easy meal. Sitting by the injured sauropod, he scanned the clearing nervously, when the sauropod lifted its head and let out a weak, plaintive groan. Drew put his hand on the animal's comparatively massive head and said, "Don't worry, big guy; you're going to be fine. I promise." Saying it like that, he almost believed it. He scanned the clearing again, warily. He knew he was being watched. Giant, deadly predators watched from the forest, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike….


	54. Age of Giants Part 5

"We've got company!"

Drew's shout woke Leon and Cynthia who instantaneously began readying themselves for some prehistoric threat. Drew's shout was followed by the fearful bellows of the young male Argentinosaurus and a low, predatory-sounding hiss; some predator had found them. When they got out of their tents, Leon and Cynthia soon realised what had given Drew cause for alarm. Several large theropods of various sizes were standing, concealed in the forest, their eyes gleaming in the dark. One of them was recognisable, as the theropod that had pursued Drew in the clearing earlier in the day. These were a pack of Giganotosaurus attracted to the clearing by the prospect of prey.

Drew turned to his teammates and whispered, as so not to attract the giant theropods, "They must have smelt him and tracked him to this clearing. We need to find a way to keep them away somehow." The Giganotosaurus had them surrounded; there was no way for them to escape. And, even if there was… they couldn't abandon the Argentinosaurus to the predators' mercy. Their assessing the situation was interrupted when a Giganotosaurus tore into the clearing, towards the Argentinosaurus, getting within thirty feet of them, before it returned to the rest of its pack, waiting in the forest. This was only a mock charge, an attempt to weed out a potential target.

After the Giganotosaurus had returned to its compatriots, Drew turned to his teammates and whispered, "I've got a plan. Get the lighter fluid, some wood and the lighter. We can make a small fire to scare them off." The team rushed into action; they knew they had to act quickly, before the Giganotosaurus came back. Eventually, a small fire was made between them and the forest; the idea being that both the stink of petroleum and the presence of fire would scare the theropods away.

However, these factors seemed to not dissuade the Giganotosaurus for, as the night went on, they gradually moved closer and closer to the humans and Argentinosaurus, moving with a patience and a stealth that belied such large creatures; after three hours, they were now standing about thirty feet away from the fire, keeping well away from the fire and standing almost patiently, as if they had all the time in the world. Looking at them, Drew realised what they were doing; playing a waiting game. They knew that the fire wasn't going to protect their potential prey for long; all they had to do was wait until it had gone out and then they would have what they were after…

Meanwhile, on Cornubia, Jack, Alice and Adrian watched as the Iguanodon herd began becoming more agitated. The Iguanodon were stamping and bellowing, whilst the Polacanthus were crouched, their armoured tails swishing from side-to-side. However, after a while, the bushes had gone quiet; it was as if the predators had disappeared. The herd briefly relaxed…

When, suddenly, a large theropod burst out of the bushes, moving so fast it was practically a blur, and tore towards the herd; shortly after, it was accompanied by several more of its kind. The herd all took off in the same direction, moving as if a single, unified entity, with the theropods in hot pursuit. The theropods periodically rushed into the herd, snapping at their heels like sheepdogs before recoiling again, in an effort to weed out weaker individuals. As the herd stampeded towards them, Jack turned to Alice and Adrian and yelled, "Now!"; he didn't want to miss the opportunity that this stampede afforded. Alice and Adrian began to set up the portal in the direction to which the herd was stampeding. Not changing their course, the entire herd charged through the portal into the present.

After that, Jack, Alice and Adrian looked to see a weakened Iguanodon, separated from the group, surrounded by the theropods. Now they could see the predators in close-up. They were a truly beautiful-looking animals; each was about twenty feet long from nose to tail. Their bodies were covered in black and yellow feathers, fading to a cream on the underbelly. A crest of red feathers dominated the head, arms and tail. Its sleek, well-muscled body was held in perfect balance by a long, mobile tail. Their three-toed feet were bare of feathers and were viciously taloned; the second toe was longer than the others and held aloft, tipped with an incredibly large, sickle-shaped claw. Jack, Alice and Adrian didn't need the info-packs to know what these were; Utahraptor, the deadliest predator of the age.

The weakened Iguanodon, panicked, ran right past a waiting raptor, which leapt onto its haunches, claws digging deep into the Iguanodon's side. Mere seconds later, a second Utahraptor tore towards the Iguanodon and latched its claws deep into its other side. The weight and shock of the two large predators tearing, kicking and biting at its back were too much for the Iguanodon. Unable to dislodge them, its back legs crumpled, exposing its belly, and the predators were quick to eviscerate it.

The Utahraptors hung back after leaping off the thrashing animal; even a single kick could seriously injure them. Eventually, the Iguanodon's spasms ceased, its breaths became shallower and its eyes glazed over. It was dead. The Utahraptor pack surrounded the carcass and began to feed. The meal was noisy, with much squabbling and displaying to establish who got the choice parts.

Jack, Alice and Adrian hung back; they didn't want the predators attacking them. Jack had observed the raptors and the hunt with a barely concealed awe; especially how they had co-ordinated their efforts to bring down the larger prey item. Particularly, his eyes were focused on the large female that had led the attack on the Iguanodon. His reverie was interrupted when Alice turned to her two compatriots and muttered, "How are we going to get them through the portal? We can't use bait, since they're occupied with the Iguanodon…"

Jack began to think, before an idea suddenly came to him. Jack turned to Alice and Adrian and smirked, "Adrian, pass me the air horn." Adrian looked at him, part flabbergasted and part puzzled and said "Why?" Jack, keeping his wry grin, said "Oh, just trust me." After Adrian had handed the air horn over to Jack, he turned and started blaring it at the raptors.

The Utahraptors, their attention focused to the three humans, turned towards the intruders and hissed aggressively. As they advanced menacingly towards the three humans, Alice opened the portal and the raptors all dived through, moving as if a unified entity. After shutting it off, Jack turned to his compatriots and said "Well, that was exciting!" Suddenly, a shadow moved across the ground and Jack, Alice and Adrian looked up to see the giant male Ornithocheirus flying over their heads. "That's our target", Jack smiled, "The Cessna's refuelled; let's get back to the chase."

They only had to follow him a short distance to a small lake on the other side of the island. By the time they had landed, the sun was beginning to set. They observed the pterosaur on the shore, after landing awkwardly, taking a drink from the water, glowing orange from the sunset. Close behind the pterosaur was a dense patch of pines and, beneath them, an understory of cycads and ferns. It looked peaceful… when, suddenly, a loud, warbling chatter started from the forest. All creatures present ignored the sound until, suddenly, a tiny, brightly coloured creature flew out and dive-bombed the Ornithocheirus. It was then followed by a second and a third; soon, the Ornithocheirus was being attacked by half a dozen of these aggressive little animals.

The team looked to the edge of the forest to see more of these small creatures calling to each other with high-pitched, rasping whistles. It was clear, even from a distance, that these weren't pterosaurs; their flight was far too fast and erratic. A closer look only confirmed this; rather than the muscular flight membranes of pterosaurs, their wings were, instead, covered in long feathers. Their bodies, too were covered in feathers. These were birds.

The Ornithocheirus attempted to snap at the little birds with his fearsome beak, but he never came close. As the birds mobbed him, his only wounds were to his pride, but, in the end, he was overwhelmed and forced to flee… by creatures less than a hundredth of his size. The Ornithocheirus took off, but his progress across the lake was slow; eventually, he found a head wind, away from his little tormentors, to find someplace else to spend the night. Jack, Alice and Adrian looked at each other and winced at the indignity of it all. "Poor thing", Jack muttered.

Turning their attention to the birds, they saw them fly back into the forest, the danger having gone. Looking closer, the team saw that they were beautifully-coloured animals, like tiny jewels against the dull confiers. Their heads were white, with blue bodies and red-tipped wings. As they flew, the birds flashed deep purple under their wings. According to the info-packs, these were Iberomesornis, amongst the earliest true birds.

Looking closer, Jack, Alice and Adrian saw small collections of leaves, moss and twigs in the trees; nests. Jack, Alice and Adrian looked at each other; that was why they had been mobbing the Ornithocheirus. They had thought he was a threat to their eggs. Looking closer at the nests, they found that none of them held eggs; however, the Iberomesornis would be still be loath to leave them. How were they going to get this lot through the portal?

However, their territoriality had given Jack an idea… Jack suddenly, grabbed the air horn and blared it at the birds. Alice turned to her brother and whispered, "What are you doing?" Jack smiled at her, "Oh, ye of little faith; I'm using their instincts to our advantage." The birds all turned to look at Jack and began to mob him, as they had done the Ornithocheirus. As he dodged a bird that tried to nick his arm, Jack activated the portal and the birds flew through it, moving as if a single entity, into the present. Jack turned to his teammates and smiled, "Well, with that out of the way, let's get some sleep. It's getting dark and the big guy's not going anywhere. And, besides, for the last leg of our journey, we'll need to rest up."

Meanwhile, in South America, Drew's team really were in trouble. Their attempts at scaring off the Giganotosaurus had failed; the fire had gone out and the giant theropods had surrounded them and the Argentinosaurus, getting closer and closer. There was no means of escape or rescue for the team. At the Giganotosaurus' mercy, they were all in more danger than they had ever been; whilst the Giganotosaurus were technically targeting the young male Argentinosaurus, they would probably not pass up the opportunity of eating Drew, Cynthia and Leon. The three looked at each other; this would be how it ended for them, eaten by Giganotosaurus in a Cretaceous forest clearing. The Giganotosaurus hissed and snapped at them periodically and were beginning to get closer and closer to them. Drew sat down, almost in defeat and hung his head; at least the end would come soon.

However, he noticed that something was wrong; the Giganotosaurus, despite having their prey surrounded, were acting hesitant and nervous, as if attacking further would invoke the wrath of something. Suddenly, every creature in the clearing became silent as massive footsteps shook the earth; the Giganotosaurus' snaps and hisses ceased and the younger Argentinosaurus' plaintive groans subsided. Drew, Leon and Cynthia looked at each other; they all came to only one conclusion.

Something big was coming…


	55. Age of Giants Part 6

The ground-shaking footsteps came closer and closer as time slowed to a halt. The Giganotosaurus shrank back, snapping nervously at thin air. Drew looked at them; they were nervous. Rooted to the spot in fear of what was coming. His mind suddenly realised what the creature that was headed for them was; there was only one animal that could so utterly terrify predators like this…

A loud bellow cut him off, as all creatures fell silent and turned to the beast standing before them. It was a sauropod, bigger than any they had ever seen. It looked very similar to the young male they had found in the clearing; only it was bulkier overall, its tannish green skin slightly darker and the row of iguana-like spikes along its back, slightly longer.

Not wanting to give up their kill, the Giganotosaurus hissed at this intimidating newcomer. However, the gigantic sauropod reared up on its hind legs and brought them down with such force that the ground around it shook. The Giganotosaurus turned tail and ran; they did not want to challenge this giant. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Drew set up the portal and the three young allosaurs ran towards it, into the present.

One Giganotosaurus, evidently the pack leader, had remained, stubbornly refusing to give up on its meal. It hissed and snapped defiantly at the approaching giant; an attempt to voice resistance to the titanic creature. The gigantic Argentinosaurus replied with a bellow so loud it almost deafened everything around it. Quietened by this display, the Giganotosaurus slunk off in defeat, through the portal. After this, the mighty sauropod scanned the clearing, as if looking for any more threats. Then, with a slow, almost stately walk, ignoring the humans staring at it in wordless awe, it went through the portal, into the present.

Snapping out of his wonder at the creature before him, Drew got out his communicator and contacted the park, arranging for a containment truck to transport the young male. Eventually, the largest truck they had arrived; it was the only one that could transport him. After much coaxing, the young sauropod stood, unsteadily and, tentatively, walked onto the containment truck. The truck then drove through the portal, into the present. Drew turned to his team, tired and exhausted. He said, "Maybe we need to take a bit of a rest."

Meanwhile, the Cessna team were on the last leg of their journey. They were heading towards the north coast of Cantabria; their final destination. "We're almost there!", Jack cheered and he, Alice and Adrian briefly looked at each other; they'd followed the Ornithocheirus across half the known world to get to this point. The Cessna veered towards a lone rock on a large open beach, following their target's tracker. As they got closer, they saw the rock was dwarfed; a black pebble swamped in a sea of flapping grey wings. A beach three miles long and one mile wide was playing host to the largest pterosaurs in the world. Adrian turned to Jack and said, "This must be the breeding beach; where the male we tracked was headed for."

Landing the Cessna, they saw the breeding site as a hubbub of activity. Males were displaying intensely, throwing their heads up to the sky and clacking their beaks. The females were only just beginning to arrive. As the females began to land, the males upped their displaying. They immediately noticed differences between the sexes; the females were about the same size as the males, if slightly shorter, and lacked the ornate crests on the males' snouts.

Heading into the display beach, the team got to work. Using bait and recordings of their calls, they were able to lure some of the Ornithocheirus through the portal. Luring the males proved to be easier than expected; many males were sent through the portal attempting to chase them. The females were more difficult; however, they did follow the bait in the end. After the first few, they got a bit risky; Jack nearly lost a finger luring a particularly aggressive male through the portal. They continued with this for an hour, until they had sent a sufficient amount of the pterosaurs through the portal, after which they headed back to the Cessna.

However, something had bugged Jack during the whole hour; not the presence of something, but rather its absence. Throwing caution to the wind, he turned to Alice and asked, "Did you see him?" Alice said curiously, "Who?" Jack, caution in his voice, replied, "The large male; the one we tracked here. 'Cos I didn't." Checking the tracker, they found the tracker was responding… on a dry sandbank near to where the Cessna had landed.

Returning to the Cessna, they saw the large male Ornithocheirus, sitting alone on a dry sandbank covered in driftwood. He looked a sorry sight. One of his wings was torn and he was so malnourished and exhausted he could barely stand. He blinked as a wound on his head dripped blood into his eyes. He must have attempted to land on the breeding beach and had been attacked by the other males. The pterosaur let out a quiet caw; from such an awe-inspiring creature, it sounded weak, almost plaintive. They all looked at each other and came to one conclusion.

He was going to die if he stayed here.

Jack got a fish out of the bait bag and dangled it in front of the giant pterosaur, who raised his head to regard the human. Jack began to say, quietly and reassuringly, "C'mon, big fella. Follow the fish. C'mon, big guy; you know you can't stay here."

The giant pterosaur, attracted by the lure of the fish, waddled tentatively, weakly, towards Jack and the fish. Adrian activated the portal and the giant pterosaur went through to the present, with Jack, Alice and Adrian accompanying him; he was the priority. They'd arrange for someone to pick up the Cessna after they got him to treatment.

At the portal side, the giant Ornithocheirus waddled a few steps further, before his wings gave out and he collapsed. Approaching Collete, who was manning the portal, Jack said "Tell Linda we need her at the portal site, now! We've brought back an Ornithocheirus, a very hurt Ornithocheirus, and he needs veterinary treatment this instant!" Jack turned to the giant pterosaur, chest rising and falling weakly, and said to him, "Don't worry, big guy, you're gonna be fine.", before running off to arrange a Jeep to tow the Cessna.

Collete looked at the giant pterosaur, concern in her eyes, lifted her walkie-talkie and said, "Linda, Jack brought back an animal that needs treatment…", she paused to look back at the Ornithocheirus, now letting out anguished chuffs, "Urgently." Linda's voice crackled in from the other end "Understood. I'm on my way."

Meanwhile, in South America, the team were sitting by the lakeside; taking a breather after the night they'd just had. After their brush with death, they were exhausted and tired; they just wanted a little rest until they got back to their mission. It was Leon who broke the silence, "So, Drew… what do we do now?" Drew sighed, "We wait. The herd of argens you guys saw can't be far away." Leon sighed, "Believe me, waiting is exactly what I was looking for…"

Suddenly, they were cut off by a loud and all too familiar bellow. They turned to see a large herd of Argentinosaurus approaching the lakeside. They varied in size, from approximately the size of the young male they'd saved in the clearing to slightly smaller than the adult male who'd saved them from the Giganotosaurus.

As the giants moved closer into view, the three humans went silent; transfixed at these giants. With an almost stately walk, the Argentinosaurus walked up to the lake and began drinking from the water. Drew, quietly, crept up to the herd and pressed the button on the portal remote. The herd stared, transfixed at this glowing orb, and, one by one, walked slowly through the portal. When the last one had gone through, Drew closed the portal. When the last one had gone through, Drew closed the portal, smiled at his compatriots and went, "Let's go home". Cynthia and Leon sighed in relief; this mission had been an arduous one.

At the portal site, they were met by Jack. "Hi, guys!", he said, "You are not gonna believe the day we've had…", he trailed off, looking at the injured Argentinosaurus. "You, too, huh?", he responded. Soon all the Early Cretaceous creatures were all transferred to their new homes.

The Utahraptor had been provided a large paddock in a new area called a new section called Raptor Territory. They were currently napping in the sun, waiting for food to arrive. The Giganotosaurus had been moved into a large paddock, in Theropod Kingdom. They were currently roaming their new territory, and waiting for their next meal.

And the large herds of herbivores were all being transferred to Mesozoic Safaris. The two sets of Iguanodon herds, with accompanying Polacanthus, apparently had combined. And the Argentinosaurus, the biggest herbivores of all, had been herded using Jeeps; the same system that had been used for their distant Jurassic cousins. Eventually, the herbivores were all in their new home. The young male Argentinosaurus, who Drew had dubbed Lightning, would soon be joining them; Linda had informed Drew that the young sauropod would recover from his injuries soon.

Meanwhile, another new section had been created.

This section had been built in one of the mountains, with skylifts being constructed for easier access. It contained all the pterosaurs and other flying animals that Drew and his team had brought back so far. The smallest aviary was themed like a forest and contained the Iberomesornis, whilst the second smallest was entirely indoor and contained the nocturnal Anurognathus. The next aviary was themed after a Triassic riverside and contained the Peteinosaurus. An aviary themed after a Jurassic coastline contained the Rhamphorhynchus and the two largest aviaries contained the Tapejara and Ornithocheirus, with both pterosaurs resuming their vigorous breeding displays.

The only exceptions were Keehar the Rhamphorhynchus and the large male Ornithocheirus, who Linda had dubbed Cirrus, both of whom were still recovering from the trials they had endured. Keehar had been in surgery for three hours to fix the bones that had been broken in the storm, whilst Cirrus had had surgery to treat his many injuries and was in rehabilitation, so he could recover from the heat stress and malnutrition; he could not be introduced to the main flock until he had regained his strength.

Next time on Prehistoric Earth

The team go back to rescue one of the smallest dinosaurs ever.

(A small dromaeosaur glides past Drew, Jack and Adrian)

But end up with some big surprises along the way

(A large sauropod bellows at the team)

Meanwhile, back at the park, tempers are running high

(A Stegosaurus and an Iguanodon bellow at each other)

All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Feathered Dragons!

Animals rescued:

Tapejara navigans: 15 (6 males, 9 females)

Ornithocheirus mesembrinus: 13 (7 males, 6 females)

Iguanodon lakotaensis: 38 (17 males, 21 females)

Iguanodon bernissartensis: 38 (21 males, 17 females)

Polacanthus foxii: 4 (2 males, 2 females)

Utahraptor europaeus: 9 (4 males, 5 females)

Iberomesornis romerali: 32 (16 males, 16 females)

Sarcosuchus imperator: 4 (1 male, 3 females)

Macrogryphosaurus gondwanicus: 19 (9 males, 10 females)

Giganotosaurus carolinii: 5 (2 males, 3 females)

Argentinosaurus huinculensis: 11 (2 males, 9 females)


	56. Feathered Dragons Part 1

In the vet offices at Prehistoric Park, Linda Eberhart was looking through her patient notes for the day. It was a slow day today; the worst was an injury sustained in a territorial fight. There was time for her to check in on the long-terms. There were four; Keehar the Rhamphorynchus, Lightning the Argentinosaurus, Cirrus the Ornithocheirus and a Macogryphosaurus that Drew's team had found on the last mission. All of them were doing well; in particular, Keehar and Lightning had both greatly recovered from their injuries when they were found. Lightning would be discharged today and Keehar was mere days away from being discharged.

After checking on the herbivores, Linda had gone into the indoor recovery bays to see the two pterosaurs.

As she watched Keehar clambering around his recovery aviary, she recalled the three hours they had spent in surgery fixing the many broken bones he had suffered in a Jurassic storm. He was half-dead when the team had brought him back and Linda was honestly not expecting him to pull through. He'd spent a week in the critical care section before being transferred to recovery, where he'd spent the past six weeks.

The other pterosaur in the recovery bays was Cirrus, the giant Ornithocheirus. When Jack, Adrian and Alice had found him, he was severely injured and near-dead from heat exhaustion, malnutrition and dehydration. Linda had not expected him to survive the night. However, he'd pulled through and, in the intervening three weeks, had gotten some of his strength back. However, he still had a long road ahead.

Suddenly, a voice chirpily went at Linda, "Morning, doc." She suddenly turned around to see Jack Denham and Adrian Sky walk into the vet offices, smiles on their faces. Linda smiled fondly back at them, "Good morning." Jack looked around and smiled, "So, Doc, how are things today?" Linda smiled, "Oh, everything's fine. What are you guys doing here?"

Jack gestured towards Cirrus, still in the recovery pens. "Just wanted to see how Cirrus was", Jack threw a fish to the giant Ornithocheirus, who chuffed happily in response, "He was in a bad way when we found him and it's been the first time in three weeks I've had the opportunity…" Linda smiled at him and said, "For the most part, he's getting better; he's gaining weight, he's fully rehydrated and the wounds on his wings have healed. Basically, his condition has radically improved than from when you guys found him." Jack smiled, "Good. I'm very glad to hear that. Fingers crossed he'll be back with the main flock soon."

Adrian, meanwhile, was playing with Keehar through the bars. That was usual. Ever since the little Rhamphorynchus had been out of the critical care ward, Adrian had been visiting him almost every day and the small pterosaur seemed to enjoy these visits greatly. Linda smiled at the image, they had developed quite a close bond.

Suddenly, Jack looked at his watch, and said, "Anyways, we'd best be heading off. We're on the mission today. You'd best be prepared for whatever we bring back." He turned to Cirrus, "Good luck, big guy", to which the pterosaur cawed in affirmative.

As Linda left, Keehar noticed something about the door to his aviary. The previous week, the latch to this particular aviary had loosened slightly, due to an accident when transporting a particularly uncooperative Coelophysis to rehabilitation. Keehar glided a few steps and hopped towards the door, put his head under the latch and pushed it up; he could lift the latch with his snout! Keehar, after ensuring no-one was looking, clambered out of his cage and looked around; he had smelt a familiar scent on the air and he would follow it.

Meanwhile, Drew Luczynski was sitting in his office, waiting for his team. Suddenly, a voice said, "What up, fearless leader?". He turned to see Jack and Adrian walking towards them, smiles on their faces. "Where were you?", Drew asked, "You guys were supposed to be here five minutes ago". In response, they rolled their eyes and Adrian replied, "We were headed down to the vet offices to see how Keehar and Cirrus were doing; that's why we were late. Anyway, what are we going after?"

Drew smiled and showed them a picture of a small dinosaur. At first glance, it looked like a miniature version of the Utahraptor in Raptor Territory. However, its legs and arms were covered in long, asymmetrical feathers, like those on a bird's wings. Drew smiled, "Microraptor."

Jack raised his eyebrow quizzically and said, "That's the dinosaur with the four wings, isn't it? The one that flew?"

Drew nodded, "Yeah. However, "flew" is pushing it; Microraptor could use its four wings to glide, it didn't have the muscles for powered flight," Drew explained, flicking through pages of the file. "But Microraptor was key to the debate about birds evolving from dinosaurs; it gave us a little hint about how flight evolved. Microraptor and several other feathered dinosaurs have been found in a place in China called the Yixian Formation, which happens to be one of the richest fossil sites in the world." Jack smiled, "Well, fearless leader, what are we waiting for?"

And, so, they headed to the portal site. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal whirred into life. Drew put the remote in his pocket and, after securing it, turned to Adrian, who nodded, and Jack, who gave him a wink and a thumbs-up. Drew nodded at them both and they entered through the portal.

As they left the portal, the first thing that hit the team was the humidity. They looked around to see where they had emerged and the sight was breath-taking. They had emerged on the shore of a lake by a dense forest. However, unlike the redwood-dominated forests of the Jurassic, this was dominated by gingkoes, cycads and seed fern trees. From the lake, they could see a dense undergrowth of horsetails, ferns and primitive flowers. In the air, they could hear the calls of pterosaurs and, in the undergrowth, they could hear the squeals and hisses of dinosaurs. In the distance, a large mountain loomed, with a plume of smoke above it. Jack pointed it out and aid to his teammates, "That's a volcano, I presume?" Drew nodded, "This region is very volcanic in nature; that's why the forest is so verdant. Volcanic soil is amongst the most fertile on the planet; if we're lucky, it won't erupt while we're here."

Jack chuckled and went, "'Lucky'. Something we rarely are, eh, fearless leader?", turning to his teammates, causing them all to chuckle. Suddenly, they were snapped out of it when the Earth began to shake violently. All sound in the forest went quiet and a large tree by the lake fell to the ground. After a minute, the tremor ceased. Adrian turned to Drew and said, "You were saying?" Drew looked around; the tremor had been minor, both in scale and duration, but… it wasn't particularly safe to stay here. Drew turned to his team and said, "We head to higher ground." Jack nodded and said, "Righto, fearless leader." And the team began to head to a higher section of the lake, with farther away from the treeline; it never hurt to be prepared. As they hiked the short distance, Drew turned to see a strangely familiar shape flying behind them; however, the shape was moving so fast, it was practically a blur.

Once they had reached their new spot and set up camp, they looked around for any signs of their targets by the lake. Suddenly, they heard a loud squawk and looked up to see a flock of pterosaurs flying over the lake. They had short, rounded wings and a wingspan of about four feet. Their bodies were covered in dark brown fur, grading to a lighter colour on the belly. They had short beaks and deep heads with a short, curving crest. As they looked closer, they noticed two different crest types in the flock; the ones with the large, yellow-coloured crests were evidently the males, whilst the ones with the smaller, grey crests were the females.

Adrian turned to his compatriots and asked, "Any idea what these guys are?" Drew said, "From the looks of it, I'd say they were Eosipterus; a common pterosaur in this region." Jack asked, "Another question; how are we going to get this lot through the portal?" Drew smiled at him, "Oh, ye of little faith… I've got a plan. Jack… get the bait bag."

Following Drew's instructions, Jack grabbed the bait bag, filled with fish, and emptied some of it onto the lake shore. The pterosaurs sniffed the air, veered towards the pile of fish and dived towards the lake shore, moving in perfect, synchronised harmony. When they had gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal and the pterosaurs, moving as if a single entity, dived through the portal, into the present.

Jack, grinning wildly after the events, turned to Drew and asked, "Now, fearless leader, what do we do next?" As Drew was about to speak, he was suddenly cut off by a series of loud, barking caws…. Coming from their camp.


	57. Feathered Dragons Part 2

Rushing towards the cawing sound from their camp, they found that some of their equipment had been torn open, by some creature clearly in a massive hurry. The attack angle looked chaotic, as if it had been done quickly, an attempt to nick some food whilst their backs were turned. The caw must have been an alarm call before it had retreated. Drew looked around the wreckage and said, "Whatever did this must have been looking for food; the meat that was part of our rations. They didn't get anything; those bags we use are near impossible to tear open. They can withstand grizzly bears."

Suddenly, their trains of thought were interrupted by a very familiar squawk. Standing on a log nearby, they found a very familiar Rhamphorhynchus, nibbling his fur clean. The Rhamphorynchus gave them a puzzled look, as if to say "Why are you all so surprised?" Adrian looked, flabbergasted, "Keehar?! How did you get here?" Jack chuckled fondly, "The jammy little sod must've snuck through the portal". Keehar chirped in affirmative and hopped towards Adrian. Drew rolled his eyes, raised his communicator and went, "Hi, Linda. If you're looking for Keehar, he snuck through the portal; he's with us… And he's probably torn up our camp in search of food."

Jack turned to Drew and went, "Umm, Drew, one small correction; Keehar didn't do this." Drew turned to him and said, "What makes you say that? The angles of the damage indicating there were multiple attackers? The tears indicating that these things had sharp teeth and large well-developed claws? Or the fact that the call we heard before we headed back to camp was clearly not Keehar's?" Jack looked around, furtively, and said "Well, there is that, fearless leader, but the clincher for me is the series of theropod-looking footprints walking away from our camp and into the forest." Jack gestured to a series of three-toed prints walking away from the camp and into the undergrowth. Drew bent down to look at them; there was something weird about them. For some reason, the second toe wasn't leaving an outline…

Drew looked up and smiled, "Right, well, we know where we're headed." Adrian gave him a quizzical look, "Something just attacked us and you want to find them?" Drew shrugged and said, "Well, yeah." Jack gestured towards Keehar and asked, "One last thing, fearless leader; what are we going to do with him? Send him back?" Drew sighed and said, "We'd best take him along. In case we need him."

Meanwhile, back at the park, Leon was continuing his work with Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. It had been almost two months since he had begun his training programme; they had been both whistle-trained and responded to verbal commands. Now, it was time to step it up a notch; to see if they could herd the lure into a certain point. Leon, using a remote control, moved a dinosaur-shaped lure into the enclosure at high speed. As usual, the three allosaurs dived after the lure, pursuing it wherever it went, snapping at it like sheepdogs. However, suddenly, as Leon turned the lure towards the door, Drogon dived in front of it, snapping at it and causing it to move backwards. Leon smiled; this was turning out entirely as planned. As he attempted to move the lure right, Rhaegal blocked its way, forcing it to move back the way it came. Viserion hampered an attempt to move the lure towards the bottom fence. Eventually, the allosaurs boxed the lure into a corner. Drogon hesitated, as did the others, and turned to look at Leon, as if waiting for a command. Leon said, "Leave", and the three the three allosaurs backed off, allowing the lure to leave the paddock. After this, Leon threw them each a piece of meat; training was going well.

Suddenly, he heard someone clearing their throat. He turned around to see Yolanda standing behind him. She looked shyly at him, "HI. You weren't answering your walkie-talkie." Leon shrugged and said, "I was busy", gesturing to the allosaurs, "So, why are you here? Dropped in to visit?" Yolanda chuckled, "If only. I just wanted to tell you; you're needed at Mesozoic Safaris. There's been a little situation."

Leon sighed. "Sure. Tell Kyle I'll be there in five minutes." His training session had finished anyway; and, besides, this problem at Mesozoic Safaris sounded like it was urgent.

Meanwhile, Drew, Jack and Adrian were moving through the undergrowth of the Cretaceous forest. Keehar, meanwhile, was flying above them, looking around nervously and staying close to Adrian. As the team walked through the undergrowth, they noticed something different compared to the Jurassic. Aside from the ferns and horsetails they had seen in the Jurassic, there were primitive flowers of various colours pockmarked throughout the undergrowth. They briefly stopped to look at a bright purple one. Drew said, "These are the first flowering plants; beautiful, aren't they?" Jack breathed out and said, "Amazing, isn't it? Everything from the largest oak tree to the smallest dandelion… all started with these tiny flowers."

Suddenly, botany became a secondary concern as the undergrowth rustled. Drew, Jack and Adrian looked in the approximate direction the sound had come from. Keehar sniffed the air and squeaked in fear. However, nothing emerged and, disturbed by what had transpired, they walked on.

As they headed deeper into the forest, something would move through the undergrowth periodically; this increased in frequency as they went deeper. Suddenly, they walked out of the thick undergrowth into a large clearing. The canopy was particularly thin and the undergrowth plants were comparatively reduced.

Adrian turned to Drew and asked, "What do we do?" Drew turned to his teammates and said, "Scan the trees; this is perfect habitat for Microraptor. They're probably here some-". Suddenly, Keehar squawked in alarm as the undergrowth rustled all around them. Suddenly, a familiar barking caw echoed through the clearing. The three adventurers all turned to each other in a shock realisation; whatever creatures had attacked the camp had been following them as they'd walked through the forest.

The caws got louder and louder as the undergrowth, before a theropod dinosaur emerged in the clearing in front of them. It was about four feet long and came up to the three humans' waists; its body was covered in thick, green-brown feathers, apart from its face. It had a long snout, a mouth full of sharp teeth and large, intelligent-looking amber eyes. It stood on two powerful hind legs, with three-toed taloned feet; the second toe was larger than the others and held aloft, tipped in a vicious-looking, sickle-shaped claw. The creature cocked its head curiously at them. Keehar squawked loudly at it and it hissed at him in response, teeth and claws bared, causing the little pterosaur to hide behind Adrian.

Drew knew what it was, "According to the info-packs, this is Mei long. A kind of troodont found in these forests. This must be one of the ones that attacked the camp; we walked into their territory." Suddenly, the Mei threw back its head and cawed loudly; several others cawed in reply. The three humans backed closer to each other and Keehar hid behind Adrian, as the undergrowth rustled all around them. Suddenly, several more burst out from different angles, surrounding them. Jack turned to Drew, "If you've got a plan, fearless leader, now would be a brilliant time to implement it." Drew turned to Jack and said, "Pass me the bait bag." Jack said, quietly, "Why?" Drew turned to him and said, "There's meat in the bag; we can distract them from us." Jack quietly passed the bag to Drew, not trying to anger the troodonts. Once Drew had been given the bag, he grabbed a dead rat from the bag and threw it away from them. The troodonts followed the dead rat and eagerly began fighting over it. Drew used the distraction to activate the portal and threw another, larger rat through it. The troodonts dived after it, moving as if a unified entity. After the last one had gone through, Drew shut off the portal.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Leon had arrived at Mesozoic Safaris to see Kyle, Yolanda, several of the keepers and some of the security personnel, including Collete, standing by one of the viewing areas. Leon walked towards Kyle and said, "Sorry for being late, I was busy with the allosaurs. What's going on?" At the mention of the allosaurs, several of the crowd tittered; Leon sighed. Many still thought the allosaur training a harebrained scheme doomed to end in failure. That was the problem, Leon reflected, when people thought of you as "the useless one"; no plan you came up with was trusted.

He put his mind back to the task at hand; he had to find out why Kyle had called him over. Kyle turned to look at Leon and went, "In recent days, the male Stegosaurus have become incredibly aggressive; they've been fighting amongst themselves rather violently, as well as picking fights with the other animals. We need you to figure out why."

One of the young male Stegosaurus charged at a tranquilly browsing Plateosaurus, causing the smaller prosauropod to turn and run at the sight of this angered herbivore. The stego snorted in triumph, before rubbing his cloaca against the tree. Leon scanned the herbivore intently; was there anything that could indicate the cause of this bizarre behaviour. Leon noticed that the stego had scent-marked and that his plates were flushed red, which could only mean…

"Got it!", Leon yelled, leading to confused looks from everyone around him. Leon elaborated, "It must be breeding season for them; their bodies are pumped up with testosterone, ready for fighting over mates. However, it's making them extremely aggressive towards anything that's angering them. Think like musth in elephants."

In response to this, Kyle arched his eyebrow; he knew what Leon was talking about. When he was a young keeper, the African bull elephant at a zoo he was at was borderline nightmarish when he was in musth; he had been near impossible for the keepers to control. Here, there were several male stegos to deal with; how Leon could find a solution to this would be a mystery. As if reading his thoughts, Collete went, dryly, "What are you waiting for? Three cheers? You can't just say what's happening; tell us what to do about it."

Leon, remembering himself, looked sheepishly and said, "It's only temporary, they're going to snap out of it once breeding season is over. I have an idea about how to get it under control, but it'll take some time to implement. For now, we just keep the male stegs under constant surveillance and interfere when they start getting aggressive again."

Whilst this was happening, Linda was treating Cirrus in the veterinary offices, cleaning the massive pterosaur of any potential skin parasites. The giant Ornithocheirus went along with this treatment stoically, even though he didn't like it, holding his head high as Linda rubbed the treatment into his fur. Linda, after she had finished applying the treatment, turned to the giant pterosaur and said, "Well, you've certainly behaved well. I had to practically pin Keehar down before he'd let me put this on him." Cirrus cawed in affirmative. Giggling, Linda briefly tickled Cirrus under the beak, to which he let out a little, delighted chuff, before she left to look at whatever animals Drew and Jack had brought back.


	58. Feathered Dragons Part 3

Drew, Jack and Adrian walked through the Cretaceous forest, with Keehar flying alongside them. They hadn't seen any animals since their encounter with the Mei long. As they walked, they scanned the trees for Microraptor, catching vague glimpses of creatures scurrying through the branches. However, the glimpses were too fleeting to be identifiable as anything.

Drew looked at his compatriots and said, "Since looking isn't working, we may need another plan. How about we try-". He was cut off by a loud, low reverberating squawk that echoed through the forest. He scanned the forest, to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Once he had, he began walking towards the sound, Jack, Adrian and Keehar following him. Following the sound, they entered a clearing and saw a dinosaur standing in front of them.

It was smaller than they had been expecting; only about the same size as the Mei long. There was also a vague similarity in appearance; however, this new dinosaur had a longer, more rounded head, as opposed to the Mei long's sharp, pointed muzzle. Its teeth were also different too; rather than the sharp, serrated teeth of the Mei long, it had large incisor teeth, like that of a rabbit.

Unlike the camouflaging green-brown plumage of the Mei long, this dinosaur had an extravagant crest of blue-green feathers on its head, a similarly coloured fan on its tail and long, slightly darker feathers on its arms. The dinosaur threw back its head, let out another booming cry and jumped up and down, lifting his tail to expose his tail fan, bobbing his head to show off his crest and flapping his arms to reveal his wing feathers.

Drew knew what it was immediately, "According to the info-packs, this is Incisivosaurus; another kind of feathered dinosaur from this area. As you can tell from the buck teeth, it's a herbivore." Jack pointed at the Incivisosaurus, "I'm guessing this is a male; what with the bright colours and the vigorous displaying. This, fearless leader, looks like a mating display."

True to Jack's word, they noticed another Incivisosaurus enter the clearing; this one was slightly smaller and a dull brown. This was evidently a female; she lacked the extravagant tail fan and head plumage seen on the male. The male, after seeing this new arrival, resumed his displaying vigorously, interspersing it with high-pitched pinging sounds to draw the female closer. Eventually, she turned her back to the male and lifted her tail to expose her cloaca.

Turning away, Jack tittered, "I think they need to be alone, if you catch my drift", raising his eyebrows, causing his compatriots to start giggling. "Oh, stop it", Adrian giggled. "Yeah", Drew said, barely stifling back laughter himself, "Keep your eyes on the mission." Keehar, for his part, looked confusedly at the humans; what were they so amused by?

After the Incivisosaurus had finished mating, Drew, still stifling back the urge to giggle, aimed the portal remote at the clearing. The two oviraptorids stood, transfixed, at the glowing orb and walked through it; the female first, followed by the male. When the male had gone through, Drew shut the portal off and turned to his team, "Right what we do about the Microraptor is-", before Jack's voice interrupted him. "Uh, fearless leader? You'd best come over here; you'll want to see this."

Drew ran over to see Jack, Adrian and Keehar standing in front of a series of tracks; and large ones at that. Each was about a foot wide. Drew bent down to regard them; they looked rather familiar. He couldn't identify what specific animal species they had come from, but he knew what kind of animal had made them…

Suddenly, a high, chirping call echoed through the forest, causing the team to look in the direction of a large tree. They watched as a small shape leapt from the branch, spread its arms and legs and gracefully glided down to the print and began digging for grubs.

Now that it was on the ground, they could look at it closer. It was small, barely over two feet long, with a body that was covered in iridescent black feathers, with its only bare parts being its feet, muzzle and fingers. Its arms and legs were covered in long, asymmetrical feathers, like those on a bird's wings. Like the Utahraptor back at the park, it had a sickle claw on its second toe. They all knew what it was immediately. Drew muttered, in awe, "Microraptor". Suddenly, the little dinosaur turned to notice those regarding it and climbed back up into the trees at lightning speed, disappearing before they could blink.

Drew turned to his compatriots and said, "That's a Microraptor. The reason why it ran back up the tree is, since it can't fly, it can't take off from the ground. We can use that." Jack, Adrian and Keehar looked at each other puzzled. "How?", Jack said. Drew smirked, "Easy."

Meanwhile, back at the park, Leon was brainstorming ideas about what to do about the Stegosaurus. Sure, this was only going to be temporary, but something still needed to be done.

It hadn't just been today; the Mesozoic Safaris herbivores had been having compatibility issues for quite a while now, with situations simmering to the occasional conflict would occur over water, food or territory. It was mostly the smaller herbivores; everybody knew better than to challenge the giant sauropods. Maybe it was due to the fact that they'd all been thrown together with animals they would have never interacted with in nature; the fear of the new. Elephants, gazelles and rhinos were all accustomed to each other, which was why-….

Suddenly, Leon had an idea. He knew what to do about the problem, until breeding season had ended and the testosterone levels of the male stegs got back to normal He immediately began sketching designs in. The solution could only be-.

Meanwhile, back in Prehistoric China, Drew and team had constructed a small fence around an area of soil, with openings filled with grubs as bait. Drew had explained the plan, "We construct the fence entirely around the openings, so when the Microraptor come down to feed on our bait, they won't be able to leave and we can get them through the portal. All we have to do is wait."

And so they did, sitting in the undergrowth and waiting for their targets to arrive.

Eventually, they saw a Microraptor gracefully glide down to their fence and begin digging for grubs. The Microraptor was then joined by a second, then a third and so on. Soon, twelve Microraptors were in the corral, digging for the grubs the team had left as bait. Drew smiled; just a little longer and they'd have…

Suddenly, two young male Incivisosaurus tore into the clearing, knocking over the fence and causing the Microraptors to scatter, climbing back up into the trees. The two rivals circled and vigorously displayed at each other. At the failure of their plan, Jack sighed, "And the best laid plans of mice and men…"

Adrian turned to his compatriots and smiled, "We can salvage something from this. Jack, can I have the horn?" After Jack obliged, Adrian walked into the clearing and began blaring his horn at the two dinosaurs, which turned to look at him. Their grudges forgotten at the sight of this new competitor, the two dinosaurs charged at him and, when they had gotten close enough, Drew opened the portal and they dived through, into the present.

Jack turned to look at the destroyed fence, "What do we do about the Microraptor?" Drew sighed and turned to look at Jack, Adrian and Keehar, "Stay there, I'm going back to the park to get some stuff that might help us." He walked through the portal, back to the present.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Collete was on watch duty in Mesozoic Safaris, keeping an eye on the male Stegosaurus, in case they did something. Collete snorted; knowing Leon, this plan was impractical, ridiculous and highly likely to end in disaster. The guy was a bunny hugger all the way through. He was a walking textbook; that was all he was.

Jack had really come to grow on her. She'd thought him annoying at first, but over time, she'd come to enjoy his company; he made her laugh. It was surprising, really, they were complete opposites; Jack was a lot more of a maverick than her. His sister, on the other hand, had been cold to her the instant they met; personality clash, she supposed. Whatever the case, they kept a mutual distance from each other.

Anyways, back to watch duty. She turned to watch the Iguanodon herd, with accompanying Polacanthus, were drinking from the lake or browsing from trees or shrubs. Suddenly, there was a loud bellow, to which the Iguanodon herd suddenly froze and looked in the direction it had originated.

One of the younger male Stegosaurus, plates flushed red with blood, was charging down the hill, bellowing loudly. As he got closer to the lake, he began trying to push his way through the Iguanodon, who began bellowing aggressively at this new arrival. In response to this, the Stegosaurus stamped his foot, swished his spiky tail and bellowed at the Iguanodon. After that, the Polacanthus swiped their viciously armoured tails at the male Stegosaurus, and the Iguanodons lashed their thumb spikes at it. The Stegosaurus, however, was showing no signs of yielding.

Collete picked up her walkie-talkie and said, "There's a Code Beserker at Mesozoic Safaris! I need help urgently." After a few minutes, several park personnel, Alice amongst them, all armed with hosepipes, rushed to the scene. Collete narrowed her eyes at the sight of Alice, but put those thoughts to rest; she had to be professional. Each staff member grabbed a hosepipe and began spraying it at the herbivores. However, it was to no avail; it looked like this was going to end in a fight.

Suddenly, a loud, hooting bellow echoed through the air, to which all creatures went silent. Turning, they saw Lightning the Argentinosaurus come charging down the hill, eventually standing between the Iguanodon herd and the Stegosaurus, which bellowed at the larger herbivore.

Lightning reared up on his hind legs briefly before slamming his front feet against the ground, before bellowing loudly at the warring herbivores. The Stegosaurus and Iguanodon both quietened, with the Stegosaurus ambling off to the other side of the lake, leaving the other herbivores in peace, before Lightning ambled off.

Well, that was unusual.

Meanwhile, in prehistoric China, Drew had returned with three net guns; one each for himself, Jack and Adrian. He explained, "We use the net guns to net the Microraptor when they're on the ground and put them in individual carriers." And so, the three adventurers and accompanying pterosaur continued through the forest, searching for Microraptor. After about an hour, they heard noise in a nearby clearing, finding a small group of female Incisivosaurus.

Watching the dinosaurs, Drew smirked, "We'll need some more females at the park anyways. I've got a plan, and it's a cracker", to which Jack, Adrian and Keehar gave him quizzical looks. This plan involved making a trail of plants to use as bait and allowing the dinosaurs to follow it. Once they had gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal, allowing them to go through, one by one, into the present.

Once the last Incisivosaurus had gone through, Drew shut off the portal. Jack looked at Drew and asked, "So what's the plan now?"

Before Drew could speak, the team heard a familiar call and looked up to see several Microraptor gliding through the trees, heading deeper into the forest. Drew, smiling, turned to Jack and Adrian and said, "The plan is we see where they're headed."


	59. Feathered Dragons Part 4

In Cretaceous China, Drew, Jack, Adrian and Keehar were following the Microraptors deeper into the forest. After an hour's walking, they entered a clearing. They looked up in the trees to see several Microraptor, perched like gargoyles, waiting expectantly for something to arrive…

Suddenly, a loud, hooting bellow echoed through the forest; a bellow that sounded strangely familiar. Jack turned to Drew and said, "That isn't what I think it is, right?" Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a large sauropod walked into the clearing and bellowed at them. Drew, Jack, Adrian and Keehar stood stupefied by this new giant. From the info-packs, this was evidently some kind of titanosaur; however, they didn't know which one. Maybe Leon would be able to identify them when they brought them back.

Like the sauropods back at the park, it had a long neck, a small head, four columnar legs and a long tail. However, in comparison to the ones back at the park, it was much smaller; only about forty-five feet long. It had green-brown scales and red markings on its snout and a row of osteoderms and iguana-like spikes ran down its back to its posterior. It was eventually joined by several more of its kind, moving along the forest trackway.

Drew, Jack, Adrian and Keehar walked out of the way of the giants and looked up at the Microraptors, who were staring anticipatorily; as if this was what they had been waiting for. They turned to look as one of the mighty sauropods stepped on a large, dead log. The log splintered and cracked open under the sauropod's weight. The Microraptors dived towards the log and began eating insects from under the bark. Some were rooting through the soil nearby to where the giants had walked.

Drew looked at the Microraptor and turned to his compatriots, "That's why they were waiting for the herd! As the herd walk through the forest, they break up dead wood and turn up soil, flushing out both grubs in the soil and insects in the wood. The Microraptors then eat these." Jack turned to Drew, smiling, "And they're just standing in this clearing… Perfect opportunity, don't you think?" Drew turned to his comrade and smiled, "You just read my mind."

Over the next hour or so, they would aim their net guns at the feeding Microraptors. When they fired, the targeted Microraptors would find themselves trapped under the net, allowing Drew, Jack and Adrian to put them in the glass-doored animal carriers. This was easier said than done; mostly due to Jack's tendency to miss his targets. Once they had captured a significant amount, Drew turned to his compatriots and smiled, "Let's get back to the lake. The sauropods are headed for there."

As the team headed down the mountain, they walked into a clearing… containing a pack of sleeping Mei long. Jack, Adrian and Keehar moved closer to Drew, with Keehar and the Microraptors beginning to squirm and squawk uncomfortably. Jack turned to Drew and whispered, "Fearless leader? How are we supposed to get past this lot without waking them up?" Drew scanned the clearing, seeing for ways they could get around the sleeping theropods without waking them up. However, there was something very wrong about this. There was something eerie about the stillness of the Mei long; he couldn't even hear them breathing.

Drew leaned down to the nearest Mei long and put his hand on its wrist. The skin felt cold. Drew took his hand away. He couldn't feel a pulse.

It was almost certainly dead.

Drew turned to his teammates and said, "This one's dead!" Jack leant down to the one nearest to him, checked for a pulse and said, "This one's dead too." Adrian scanned the clearing and said, "I think they all are." Drew looked at the bodies; there wasn't even a single scratch on them. He said, puzzled, "I wonder what happened to them…"

Suddenly, a juvenile Mei long weakly stood up, trying to hold its head in the air, whilst gasping for breath. As this happened Keehar and the Microraptors suddenly began to snap and twitch uncomfortably, with Keehar climbing on to Adrian's back. Jack turned to look at the carbon dioxide meter, which was now steadily rising, "Umm, Drew…"

Drew's eyes widened in horror, "Carbon dioxide. That's how the Mei long died; they were gassed by CO2 from the volcano." Jack gestured to the juvenile Mei long, now struggling to breathe, "All except for one. If we don't get him back to the park, he's going to die." "You're right", Drew said, "We'll take him with us.". Jack gently picked up the little theropod and put him in one of the spare Microraptor carriers. Once in the carrier, the little dinosaur began to move around and breathe more deeply, having just escaped the gas cloud. The carriers were airtight, so no CO2 could get in.

Right after that, a massive earthquake rocked the forest floor. Drew, Jack and Adrian struggled to stay upright and keep hold on to their carriers as the ground shook around them. Keehar only nearly dodged a falling branch and the Microraptors and young Mei long began to squawk in alarm.

Trying to gain his bearings after the massive quake, Drew said, "Right, we need to get out of the forest before there are any aftershocks…" Drew turned to see that Jack was looking into the horizon, a shocked expression on his face, pointing at the volcano, "Uh, Drew… I might be jumping the gun here, but I don't that's what you should be worried about…"

Drew turned to look in his compatriot's direction, and his eyes widened from horror at what he saw. The volcano's summit was covered by a gigantic plume of smoke pointing into the sky, so huge it almost blocked out the sun and seeped down into the forest, like a toxic mist. As he looked closer, he noticed lava trickling down the volcano's side, burning everything in its path.

The volcano had erupted.

"Oh shit."

Drew, Jack and Adrian looked at the erupting volcano in worldless horror. Drew turned to Jack and Adrian, "We need to head back to the lake now!" Jack suddenly turned to Drew and said, "Uh, tiny problem, fearless leader; that eruption is pumping out so much ash into the sky it'll block out the sun and we don't have any torches. Even if we move as fast as we can, we won't be able to find the lake in the dark." Suddenly, Keehar jumped off Adrian's back and began flying out of the clearing. He turned to look at the three humans, briefly perched on a tree stump, and squawked, as if telling the humans to follow him. The humans all looked at each other, confused, before moving to follow him.

As fast as they could, they followed Keehar, all carrying the Microraptors and the young Mei long. As they moved through the forest, they put on their gas masks to cope with the volcanic ash; it never hurt to be prepared. Keehar, for his part, was simply flying above the gas cloud, taking deep breaths wherever he could. As they ran through the forest, Jack turned to Drew, confused, "Where do you think he's taking us?" Drew turned to Jack and said "We're headed back to the lake. Maybe Rhamphorynchus have good homing instincts. He's also got better night vision than us…"

Eventually, the team reached the lake to find the sauropods standing by it, bellowing in clear distress. The volcanic ash had now blocked out the sun, shrouding the lake in darkness, meaning the giants were only visible as silhouettes.

Drew turned to Jack, Adrian and Keehar, shouting over the sauropod's bellows and the restrictions of his gas mask, "Get everything else through the portal. I'll handle the sauropods". Jack and Adrian nodded obediently and Keehar cawed in affirmative. Carrying their equipment and the carriers containing the the Microraptors and the juvenile Mei long. Jack and Adrian went back through the portal, with Keehar close behind them.

After they left, Drew turned to the sauropods and began blaring his horn at them. The sauropods charged towards the source of this new sound. Once they had gotten close enough, Drew opened the portal and the sauropods charged through, moving as if a single entity. Once the last one had gone through, Drew ran through the portal himself and closed it once he was back at the park.

Once the portal had been shut off, he took off his gas mask and briefly looked up to see Leon, Kyle and Yolanda giving him flabbergasted looks. Jack, Adrian and Keehar were standing next to them, concern on their faces. Leon firstly turned to Jack, Adrian and Keehar and then to Drew, before asking, "What the hell happened?"

Drew smiled and said, "I'll tell you all about it." Kyle facepalmed at this statement.

Soon all the Early Cretaceous creatures were all transferred to their new homes. The Eosipterus had been transferred to a new aviary in the pterosaur section, created to look like an Early Cretaceous lakeside. The flock were now basking in the sunlight, waiting for their next meal.

Meanwhile, another new section had been created for the dinosaurs from this mission. This section was built with an artificial river running through it; the plan was to use it as a boat tour when the park opened. It contained all the animals that Drew and his team had brought back from this mission.

The Mei long had been provided a small forest area to clamber and hunt in. They were all currently napping in the sun, waiting for their next meal to arrive.

Meanwhile, the Incisivosaurus were kept in a nearby paddock, themed after a Chinese forest. The males were resuming their vigorous breeding displays to the females, who were looking for potential nesting sites in the exhibit.

Meanwhile, the Microraptor, after they had been cleared, were being kept in a large aviary with trees for them to clamber and glide in. They were all exploring their new home, waiting for their next meal. The largest enclosure contained the titanosaur herd, which Leon had identified as Borealosaurus, who were now roaming their new forested home, browsing from the trees.

However, everyone was standing at Mesozoic Safaris. Drew, Jack, Adrian (accompanied by Keehar), Collete, Yolanda, Kyle and Nikolai were all standing by the viewing area, waiting for Leon to implement his plan to alleviate the male Stegosaurus' aggression. Adrian turned to Collete and said, confused, "Did Leon tell you guys what he'd been planning?" Collete shook her head and said, "No. Although, given his history, I don't really have much hope for it." Jack said, half-jokingly, "Hey, don't count him out just yet; the allosaur thing worked, if I recall correctly."

Leon walked out and stood beside Jack, smiling, and pointed at a structure that looked like a scarecrow Stegosaurus. Seeing everyone's confused stares, Leon said, "To stop the male stegs from attacking anything that moves, I made a few decoys for them. These are made to look like a male Stegosaurus; our males will see that as a competitor." Suddenly, a young male Stegosaurus, enraged after losing a territorial battle, charged towards the decoy and, using tail swipes, shoves and headbutts, attacked it. Leon smiled, "He's going to be doing this for hours; those decoys can withstand anything."

Meanwhile in the vet offices, Linda was looking over the orphaned Mei long, a male, as he walked unsteadily around his recovery pen. After several hours being treated for carbon dioxide poisoning, he had been sent over to recovery. Linda looked over the little dinosaur, scared in this new environment, and felt a pang of sympathy; maybe the pack they had could take him in. Stranger things had happened. As she left, so Harry could relieve her, Cirrus walked over and stuck his head out. Linda briefly paused and stroked his head.

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth**

 **The team go back to Cretaceous Antarctica**

 **(A small ornithopod runs through a forest)**

 **To rescue some of the most bizzare dinosaurs ever**

 **(Ornithopods mob a giant amphibian)**

 **Meanwhile, back at the park, Jack makes new friends**

 **(Jack puts his hand on a Utahraptor's snout)**

 **And helps a lonely little dinosaur find a family**

 **(An adult Mei long sniffs the juvenile)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Spirits of the Silent Forest!**

Animals rescued:

Borealosaurus wimani: 10 (1 male, 9 females)

Eosipterus yangi: 8 (4 males, 4 females)

Incisivosaurus gauthieri: 10 (3 males, 7 females)

Mei long: 7 (4 males, 3 females)

Microraptor gui: 12 (6 males, 6 females)


	60. Spirits of The Silent Forest Part 1

Drew Luczynski was sitting in his office, waiting for his teammate to arrive. Suddenly, a voice sarcastically noted, "Well, I'm glad to see you starting without me". He turned to see Cynthia walking towards him, a smug expression on her face. "Where were you?", Drew asked, "You were supposed to be here five minutes ago". In response, she rolled her eyes and replied, "I needed to do something in the China section, s'all. Anyway, what are we going after today?".

Drew smiled at her. He could only take Cynthia on this mission; everyone else was busy either with general park duties or personal projects they wanted to see to fruition. For example, Leon was busy with the allosaurs and Jack was busy overseeing the integration of the juvenile Mei long into the park's group. Also, some Novum official was coming today to do an audit on the park; he'd left Nikolai to handle that. Back to the important stuff.

Drew reached into his pocket and showed her a picture of a small herbivorous dinosaur. At first glance, it looked like a miniature version of the Dryosaurus in Mesozoic Safaris. However, its tail was abnormally long and its eyes were proportionately larger, almost bugging out of its skull. Drew smiled, "This is Leaellynasaura"." Cynthia raised an eyebrow quizzically and said, "What's so special about it?" Drew smiled, "During the Cretaceous, dinosaurs were found all over the world," Drew explained, flicking through pages of the file. "Even at the South Pole; this was many millions of years before ice caps ever formed on it. This was little-studied until very recently; however, studies have found a wholly distinctive community of dinosaurs adapted to thrive in the unique weather conditions of the time, of which Leaellynasaura was just one." Cynthia smiled, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

And, so, they headed to the portal site. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal whirred into life. Drew put the remote in his pocket and, after securing it, turned to Cynthia, who nodded. Drew nodded back and they entered through the portal, into the past.

As they left the portal, the first thing that hit the team was the cool air. They looked around to see where they had emerged and the sight was breath-taking. They had emerged in the middle of a large, tropical forest, with a canopy of podocarp and arucaria trees, a denser mid-canopy of ferns and cycads and a lush forest floor, covered in semi-dormant plants. Drew looked at his teammate and said, "This mustn't be long after winter; the plants are only just starting to photosynthesise again." He remembered reading about the bizzare climactic system of Cretaceous Antarctica on the info-packs; Cretaceous Antarctica, unlike the rest of the world at the time, had distinct seasons, with summers of 24-hour sunlight and winters of total darkness.

Suddenly, a bipedal, fast-moving shape moved through the forest, moving so fast it was practically a blur. As it moved through the undergrowth with a speed unrivalled, it briefly jumped onto a fallen podocarp tree, allowing Drew and Cynthia to see it in detail for the first time. It was slightly bigger than the Othnielosaurus back at the park, at about seven feet long, with much of that length being its long, stiff tail, and its entire body was covered with downy feathers; the feathers being reddish-brown with green stripes on the back, grading white on the underbelly. Another distinctive feature of it was its eyes; disproportionately large for its head, and which darted watchfully throughout the clearing, scanning for potential predators in the bushes. Suddenly, it turned to look at the two adventurers, squawked in alarm and tore back through the undergrowth, disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.

Drew and Cynthia looked at each other; they knew what this was. This was Leaellynasaura, their target species. And they knew what they had to do next. "Let's see where he's headed", Drew said, and they began walking down the trail the ornithopod had left.

Meanwhile, Nikolai was sitting in the meeting room and waiting for the Novum official who would be visiting today. He was standing alone; Drew had gone on his latest mission to the past today (total coincidence, he insisted) and had delegated the task to him. Nikolai rolled his eyes. Drew shirking his responsibilities; what else was new? Suddenly, his mind was brought back to reality by the sound of knocking on the door.

Walking up to it, Nikolai opened to find a tall, thin man wearing a business suit standing at the door. He had thinning hair, large glasses and a twitchy demeanour, and the sweat pouring down his skin showed that the heat was not agreeing with him. The man extended his hand and said, "I'm here for the, uh, safety audit. My name's Steve Woodward". Nikolai took it and said, "My name is Nikolai Koshkin. I'm the park's Head of Security." Woodward darted his eyes around the room, as if expecting someone else to pop out, "Where's Mr. Luczynski? Given he's in charge, I thought he'd want to be here…"

Nikolai rolled his eyes and said, "Sadly, Drew had what he considered to be greater priorities. However, most of the Deputy Keepers, who were involved in bringing back many of our animals, have remained. They can fill you in with anything the mission reports may have left out." Woodward smiled, "Well, where's our first stop?"

Meanwhile, back in Cretaceous Antarctica, following the Leaellynasaura was proving to be difficult, with Drew and Cynthia often encountering large logs and other obstacles that the little ornithopod had easily scaled, but the two humans were having difficulty with. Their hike through the forest was punctuated with brief glimpses of the Leaellynasaura they were following in the bushes as they walked. After about an hour's trekking, they reached a large clearing.

In the clearing, a group of Leaellynasaura, of all ages and sizes, were feeding on ferns, mosses and liverworts. Their motions were quick and precise, their heads bent low as they nosed through the undergrowth. One Leaellynasaura, however, was not feeding; rather, it was perched on a tree stump, erect on its back legs and balanced on its long, stiff tail. Its head darted around the clearing, alert of the slightest sound or movement. Drew knew immediately what his role was; he was a sentry, placed to warn of any approaching danger. So far, they were lucky; the sentry hadn't detected them. Or maybe he did see them, but didn't register them as a threat; after all, they had no reason to fear humans. It was an interesting thought tangent that some people had brought up a few times, but he'd never really considered until now. Drew pondered; what did these creatures make of the presence of humanity?

Suddenly, the sentry went rigid and turned his head, with lightning-fast reflexes, south-southwest and looked fixedly at the undergrowth. Drew was puzzled; he wasn't looking at them, so what could have alerted him? Drew's eyes widened; either, best case option, it was a rival clan of Leaellynsaura… or, worst case scenario, it was some sort of predator. The sentry suddenly squawked an alarm and the group went on edge as something large began crashing through the undergrowth. Drew and Cynthia looked at each other; whatever it was that had spooked them, they were about to encounter it.


	61. Spirits of The Silent Forest Part 2

Suddenly, an enormous black amphibian came crashing through the undergrowth. It looked like a gigantic salamander, some fifteen feet long. Its eyes were small, black and lidless, almost invisible amongst its head. Its mouth opened to reveal fearsome rows of teeth, perfect for slashing and cutting up prey. However, its body was oddly small compared to its formidable jaws and heavy, spade-shaped skull; its legs were small and rather puny, considering its massive bulk.

Drew and Cynthia looked at each other; they knew immediately what this was. This was Koolasuchus, one of the last survivors of a group of amphibians that predated the dinosaurs; a distant cousin of the Rhinesuchus back at the park. It had probably only just emerged from its winter hibernation.

The Koolasuchus' movements were clumsy; its belly dragged through the leaf litter and the width of its skull made it difficult for it to push through the tangle of dead ferns. Away from the water it was bewildered, out of place amongst the lithe, fast-moving dinosaurs nearby. It half-walked, half-slithered through the undergrowth. In this state, it was vulnerable… and not just to predators.

The Leaellynasaura chittered loudly at the giant amphibian, with one or two even making little mock charges at it. It almost seemed like a game to them, as if they knew the amphibian was no threat; it had neither the speed, nor the agility to hunt on land. The Koolasuchus largely ignored them and continued its slow, but determined hike towards the river.

Drew and Cynthia looked at each other, and Cynthia said, "So we follow it and see where it's headed?", to which Drew nodded and said "You just read my mind". Walking a short distance, they followed the Koolasuchus to the banks of the wide green river and watched as it stumbled over the pebbly beach, through a scrappy stand of horsetails and slipped into the lazy flow. Once it had entered the water, it was transformed from cumbersome landlubber to graceful predator, disappearing into the water.

The water was full of small invertebrates and algae, to which it owed its green colour, but Drew and Cynthia could make out several dark shapes swimming through the water; other Koolasuchus who had made the journey from the forest. Cynthia turned to Drew and asked, "How are we going to get this lot back through the portal? Use bait?". Drew smiled, "Leon told me that Koolasuchus hunted using a sensory system that picked up vibrations in the water; so that, if potential prey entered the water, it was ready to leap out of the darkness. We're going to use fish as bait, yes, but we're also going to be using this", presenting the sonar emitter that he had used on the Silurian mission, "Took me ages to get this working again. We're going to put the sonar emitter in the water, so it'll make vibrations that will attract more of them."

And, so they stood on a bend in the river, close to where the Koolasuchus were congregating. Cynthia emptied the bait bag into the water, whilst Drew threw in, and activated, the sonar device. The combined smell of fish and the vibrations in the water caused the nearby amphibians to approach it, both out of hunger and curiosity. When they had all gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal. The amphibians, transfixed at this glowing orb, swam through the portal, moving as if a single entity. As the last one went through, it flicked the sonar device away with its tail and it came flying out of the water, before hitting a rock at high speed. Drew approached to notice that the casing was cracked and sighed, "It's broken again. I'll have to get this to Darryl and see if he can fix it."

Walking out onto the river coast, Cynthia turned to Drew and asked, "So… what do we do next?" Drew's answer was cut off by a long, loud honking bellow echo through the air. Cynthia turned to Drew and said, "I suppose what we do next is follow the sound?" Drew smiled at her, "You just read my mind".

Meanwhile, back at the park, Jack was standing in Raptor Territory, watching the Utahraptors. In the six weeks since they had been brought back, Jack had spent a lot of time working with them. In particular, he'd spent a lot of time working with the alpha female, who he'd named Red. He looked at the nine predators napping in the sun; they had recently been fed.

Suddenly, he heard someone clearing their throat. He turned around to see Collete standing behind him. She looked pointedly at him, "Jack, you weren't answering your walkie-talkie." Jack shrugged and said, "I was busy", gesturing to the Utahraptors, "So, why are you here? Dropped in to visit?" Collete chuckled, "No, you're needed at the Mei long enclosure." Jack sighed; he knew he'd forgotten something. "Sure. I'm done with the Utahraptors anyway."

He and Collete arrived at the Mei long exhibit to find several other people there; Khatin, Yolanda, who was holding the juvenile Mei long (who they had named Xìngcún, after the Chinese word for "survivor") in a pet carrier, Will and Kaisumi Ishiara from the research division. After a brief greeting, their minds turned to the matter at hand.

Two adult Mei long, recently fed, were napping in the sun; this pair had been named Huángdì and Huánghòu. It turned out the Mei long had not been a pack, but a temporary association. Shortly after their arrival, squabbles had begun and the group had split into three pairs, each occupying a different territory. The only times the three groups interacted was when feeding… which had been key to Jack's plan.

Jack explained, "Right, every time we feed them, there's a hierarchy; one pair gets first pick of the carcass", he gestured to the two adult Mei long sleeping in the paddock, "with the other two pairs lower in the pecking order. We're introducing the juvenile to this pair first, because, if they take him in, he's less likely to be attacked by any of the others."

And, so the plan was in motion. Yolanda put the pet carrier down, opened it and Xìngcún gingerly walked into the enclosure, wobbling on unsteady legs. Jack turned to Collete, "If anything goes wrong, if we hear so much as a growl, we tranq the adults and get him out of there." Collete nodded.

After Xìngcún had walked a considerable distance, Huángdì and Huánghòu turned to look at him. They walked towards him and sniffed him eagerly; they could tell that he was of their kind, but not their kin. Jack and the others waited tensely; the next few minutes were crucial. The adults could, possibly attack, or even kill, Xìngcún. However, they were more curious than aggressive, their movements quiet and measured, as if not to frighten him, as they let out quiet, reassuring vocalisations. Eventually, curiosity satisfied, Huángdì and Huánghòu walked away. Xìngcún stayed rooted to the spot, as if uncertain as to what to do next. The adults stood still and turned to look at him, with Huángdì regarding him and cocking his head, as if indicating for him to follow them.

However, Xìngcún was apprehensive, as he looked around worriedly, as if waiting for a cue, before walking a few, uneasy steps. Suddenly, Huánghòu walked towards him, gently carried him in her jaws and put him on her back. He cheeped happily, as she nuzzled him with her scaly muzzle. All three dinosaurs briefly turned to look at the humans before disappearing into the bushes. The team all looked at each other, smiling ecstatically; their plan had worked on the first attempt. A lonely little dinosaur had found a new family.

Suddenly, they heard someone slowly clapping behind them. Everyone turned to see Nikolai standing with an official-looking man in a business suit, clearly not taking the heat well. Nikolai walked up to Jack and Collete, "Denham, Dubois, well done. I knew you could handle it." Jack and Collete looked at their new visitor, curiously; who was this guy? Nikolai gestured to the man, "This is Steven Woodward, from Novum, and he's here to do a safety audit for the park. Theodore is concerned that, given recent events, the park may not be entirely safe."

Woodward walked towards Jack and Collete, shook their hands eagerly, and said, "Please, just call me Steve. And, from what I've seen so far, you needn't worry. So… what just happened?" Jack smiled and said, "We were integrating a juvenile Mei long into our group; we found him orphaned in the Cretaceous. It worked on the first attempt; something that doesn't happen all that often."

Woodward smiled, "That's wonderful to hear. Now, Jack, I'd like to talk to you about these Mee long…" Will and Kaisumi cringed at the mispronunciation and Jack smiled, before gently correcting, "Actually, you pronounce it 'May'. Like the month."

Woodward nodded, "Got it. Anyways, whilst the enclosure looks secure, should there be any particular precautions with these animals?". Jack knew what Woodward was referring to; and to be honest, he was actually glad Woodward knew enough about animals to ask it. Woodward was asking whether the Mei long were "cage-breakers".

Every zookeeper knew that certain animals were more likely to get free of their enclosures than others. "Cage-breakers" spanned the animal kingdom, however there was one unifying factor; they tended to be active, intelligent, curious animals. Monkeys and raccoons were particularly notorious escapologists; their mobile, skilful hands were perfect for unlocking doors when a keeper wasn't looking. However, "cage-breakers" also included more dangerous animals. The notoriously aggressive (and surprisingly intelligent) honey badger was a natural "cage-breaker", as was the incredibly venomous black mamba. These highly curious and alert snakes were always getting out; they had a talent for it.

Jack counted himself lucky they'd never had the opportunity to see whether that applied to Mei long. Khatin stated, somewhat tactlessly, "Dromaeosaurs and troodonts were amongst the most intelligent of dinosaurs, so there is a possibility, yes". In response, Woodward's eyes widened and, salvaging the situation, Jack said, "I wouldn't worry; whilst they are intelligent, the door locks are electronic, so one couldn't simply undo the lock with its claws. The fences are also electrified, which means one of them couldn't climb out. However, we'll keep them under special watch". Woodward smiled, "Good, good. Enjoy the rest of your day", and he and Nikolai left.

Following the loud, honking bellow, Drew and Cynthia walked over a hill to find a herd of large ornithopods walking, single file, along the river bank. There was a similarity between them and the Iguanodon back at the park, with heavy back legs and smaller forearms; whilst they mostly walked on all four legs, they would occasionally walk on two. They were about the same size; the biggest was about twenty-five feet long. Their bodies were pale green with mottled black and white stomachs. However, their most distinctive feature was the large nasal bumps in front of their eyes; in the males, these were large, red and ornate-looking, combined with large red throat sacs, whilst the females had yellow, smaller, less elaborate-looking nasal bumps.

Drew knew immediately what this was, "Based on what Leon told me, this is Muttaburrasaurus, a relative of Iguanodon that's found here. We think that the nasal bumps could be inflated to produce sounds for communication or sexual display."

Following the Muttaburrasaurus to the edges of the forest, they saw the herd looking for podocarp and cycad fruit amongst the branches. Scampering amongst their feet were the Leaellynasaura, plucking podocarp and cycad fruit leftovers from the massive herbivores' meals.

"Two species for the price of one", Drew muttered, "This might be our easiest mission yet". He lifted the portal remote, pressed the button and… nothing happened. Drew tried again and again, but nothing happened. He heard Cynthia say, "Umm, Drew… We have a problem." Drew turned to her and said, "Yeah, I know, the portal isn't-". Suddenly, he trailed off as he noticed the herd of Muttuburrasaurus bellowing at something in the forest, as a large shape moved through the trees.


	62. Spirits of The Silent Forest Part 3

Drew and Cynthia watched as the Muttuburrasaurus became more agitated, stamping and bellowing at whatever in the bushes that had spooked them. The Leaellynasaura moved to underneath the Muttuburrasaurus, coming closer to the more intimidating targets for protection from the predator. Suddenly, the bushes went quiet; it was as if the predator had never been there. The herd briefly relaxed…

When, suddenly, a large theropod burst out of the bushes, moving so fast it was practically a blur and tore towards the herd. The Leaellynasaura took off into the forest, taking the opportunity afforded by the theropod being distracted by the larger prey. The Muttuburrasaurus all took off in the same direction, moving as if a single entity, with the theropod in hot pursuit. As the herd stampeded towards them, Drew and Cynthia looked in horror, with Cynthia turning to Drew and asking, "Aren't you going to set up the portal?" Drew turned to her and yelled, "It's not working! It isn't goddamn working!" As he said those words, his eyes widened at what he'd just said.

They decided to run, sprinting away from the stampeding herd to the edge of the river and watched the spectacle. The theropod snapped at the edge of the herd, like a sheepdog, in order to weed out weaker individuals. However, the chase was taking its toll and it was visibly panting. Eventually, it stopped, tired, as the herd stampeded away from it.

Now, Drew and Cynthia could get a better look at it. There was a vague resemblance between it and the Allosaurus back at the park; however, it was smaller, at only about twenty feet long, and was more streamlined and lightly built. Its arms were long and well-muscled, with three-fingered hands and a large, hook-like thumb claw. Its head was longer, shallower and had a more pointed muzzle than the Allosaurus. It was coloured a tannish green, with a greyish underbelly, and tan stripes; perfect for forest camouflage.

Drew and Cynthia looked at each other; this could have only been Australovenator, the top predator of the area. The theropod, its ambush failed, snarled in disappointment, before walking back into the forest, disappearing silently into the trees. The Muttuburrasaurus herd could be seen downriver, calmer now after their narrow escape, peacefully browsing at the trees.

Drew and Cynthia looked at each other; what was the plan now? Drew said, "We head to the herd, downriver." As they walked, they found the time had passed rapidly; by the time they had followed the herd downriver, the sun was already setting. They decided to set up camp; it would be dangerous going around the forest in the dark. Soon, they were sitting by a roaring fire; despite the fact that winter had, supposedly, passed, the night was still freezing cold.

As they sat by the forest's edge, by the sleeping Muttuburrasaurus herd, they could discern unseen creatures running through the undergrowth; from the looks of it, these were mostly Leaellynasaura. In the bushes, they also heard the Leaellynasaura's distinctive warbling vocalisations. Several small mammals scuttled round the fire; they looked like a cross between a coati and a platypus. At one point, there was a brief alarm when what appeared to be an Australovenator moved close to camp; however, it stayed on the edge of the forest, its powerful-looking, bipedal silhouette and glowing yellow eyes reflected in the fire's glow. In the sky the Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights, were shining, illuminating the forest below in a verdant greenish-yellow glow. It looked almost mystical.

Cynthia snapped out of her awe and turned to Drew, "You said the portal wasn't working. Do you have any idea why?" Drew shrugged and said, "Who knows? I use it; I don't claim to understand it. Maybe it just does this." Cynthia briefly contemplated this answer and asked, curiously, "So… why didn't you bring the rest of the team?" In response to this, Drew shrugged and said, "I didn't think I needed them." Cynthia raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? I just thought you didn't want them complicating things."

Drew looked at her curiously, "What do you mean by that?"

Cynthia raised her eyebrow superciliously and chuckled, "Well, Jack's been a liability for a while; well, he lost the communicator on the Oxford Clay mission and damn near got Alice killed. And it's not just him, I mean, Leon's little scheme with the allosaurs, how crazy is that? It's not if he'll get eaten, it's when. He just doesn't seem to understand how ridiculous, impractical and idiotic his ideas are."

Drew gave her a flabbergasted look, "That doesn't mean I don't trust them. Jack did very well on the last couple of missions; he co-ordinated both the Colorado mission and the Ornithocheirus mission impeccably. Also, Leon is one of my oldest friends; he believes his plan with the allosaurs will work and I trust him on it. They've never let me down; when it comes to the crunch, they're always there."

Cynthia waited until the end of his statement to say, almost wistfully, "You know, you can be so insightful when it comes to others, but you don't really know yourself. You're your own blind spot." In response to this, Drew chuckled, "Oh no, I know exactly what I'm like. I just can't stop myself."

Cynthia shrugged, "I suppose that's why you need us." She and Drew looked into each other's eyes, instantaneously regretting and relishing this moment… before Cynthia leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Suddenly, her eyes widened, she smiled bashfully at Drew, and said, awkwardly, "How 'bout we turn in now?"

Meanwhile, back at the park, with Xingcun having been successfully "adopted", Jack was now returning to the Utahraptor pen. The nine predators were in their individual holding areas, awaiting their physicals, pacing up and down irritably and hissing at the air. Jack walked up to the one containing Red, the alpha female; he'd spent most of his time with the Utahraptors working with her. If the alpha accepted him, he reasoned, the rest of the pack would. Jack gently reached his hand in and put it on Red's snout. Her snarls began to quiet, as she gradually calmed down. Jack smiled at the large Utahraptor, who cocked her head curiously at him. The two briefly regarded each other.

Suddenly, he heard a slow clapping behind him and he turned to see Collete Dubois standing behind him. Jack raised his eyebrow and asked her, "What are you doing here?" Collete shrugged and said, "Dropped in to visit. How well are you doing with the Utahraptors?" Jack smiled, "Good. I've started to form a connection with Red; that'll make it easier to bond with the rest of the pack."

Collete walked down the walkway to stand next to Jack. Looking around, Jack reflected, "Amazing on how things change." Collete looked, confused, "What do you mean?". Jack looked around and said, "When we started, did you foresee what was going to happen? One of our colleagues training allosaurs as protectors and us getting an orphaned dinosaur a new family? That's the thing I've realised; the best things in life are the things you never see coming. Like…"

He directed this last remark at Collete. Smiling, Collete raised her eyebrow and asked, "Like what?" Jack smiled, "Like you and me; I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be talking like this before." Collete looked curiously and asked "Why not?" Jack opened his mouth to say something before suddenly realising himself and saying "Never mind." At this, Red let out an amused squawk. Jack's eyes darted around the room, before turning to Collete, "Listen, when our shifts are over… would you like to meet up at the park bar for a drink? Just as friends, mind you." Collete briefly considered and smiled, "I'd love to."

Suddenly, Jack and Collete's communicators whirred into life, "Can anyone hear me?". Jack and Collete looked at each other, both silently cursing this interruption of an intimate moment, and picked them up almost synchronously, with Jack saying, "This is Jack; what do you want. Nikolai crackled in, "I need you to come to the China section urgently. There's an emergency." Jack and Collete looked at each other, and Collete said, "What kind of emergency, Captain?" Nikolai replied, almost casually, "Well, the Borealosaurus have escaped; so, it's a big emergency."


	63. Spirits of The Silent Forest Part 4

Leaving the Utahraptors, Jack and Collete got into a Jeep and headed to the China section, near the gate of the Borealosaurus paddock, which they noticed was wide open. There, they were met by Nikolai and Steve Woodward, the inspector. On the ground laid a multitude of large footprints, leading from the paddock gate to a nearby forest.

Jack turned to Nikolai and asked, "What happened?" Nikolai explained, "About half an hour ago, the door to the Borealosaurus paddock somehow opened, entirely by itself. We managed to get it closed, but not before the entire herd wandered out of the gate, presumably searching for food. We need to track them down and bring them back before they cause any damage."

Jack looked at the tracks and said, "Echoes of the Coelophysis incident a bit, doesn't it?" Nikolai nodded; he remembered the incident well. On the Jurassic mission, several of the Coelophysis had escaped due to a similar locking accident; it had taken him and Kyle hours to find them all. Jack continued, "Well, finding them isn't the problem; we can just follow these. We can track them down and get 'em back." Nikolai nodded, "It's a minor matter." Jack turned to Woodward and said, "Want to come along? You were looking for potential problems; don't you want to see how we solve them?"

Following the tracks in a Jeep, Jack, Collete, Nikolai and Woodward eventually found the ten giant sauropods, peacefully browsing in a forest clearing. Jack looked at the giants and said, "Well, that's finding them done. Now, how are we going to get this lot back to their enclosure?" Collete was the first to speak, "We could use the horn to shepherd them back." Nikolai shook his head, "It might agitate them and cause a stampede, which is the last thing we want." Jack suggested, "We could ask Leon if we could borrow his allosaurs and have them herd the titanosaurs back." In response to that statement, Collete gave a snort, and Nikolai shook his head, "That was the first thing I considered; however, he says he's not ready for them to be used yet. He needs to do some more training with them before he can convince them to not try and eat the animals he'll send them after." Collete sighed, "So we're stumped then." Jack smiled at her, "Not necessarily…"

Meanwhile, back in Cretaceous Antarctica, Drew and Cynthia were sitting around their camp. The Muttuburrasaurus were browsing on the trees nearby, whilst several Leaellynasaura were scampering around their feet, picking off their leftovers. In several pet carriers around the camp were some of the small mammals, which they'd identified as Steropodon. They would be transported back to the park when the portal started working. However, there was something else they needed to talk about…

It was Cynthia who spoke first, "About what happened last night… Are we…", she trailed off, "you know, a thing now?". Drew shrugged, "If you want us to be. I'm fine with it." They paused; it wasn't really what they'd been expecting. It was Cynthia who spoke, "Seems awfully anticlimactic, doesn't it?" Drew raised his eyebrow curiously, "Yeah; anticlimactic, awkward, rushed… sounds like a match made in heaven."

Changing the subject, Drew went, "Anyway, I'm going to check the portal; maybe it was just a minor thing and it's cooled down now." Cynthia shrugged, "Yeah, it's not like we're in a rush." However, unbeknownst to them, an Australovenator was lurking in the bushes, waiting for the moment to strike.

Meanwhile, back at the park, the Borealosaurus herd were on the move. They were accompanied by four park Jeeps, corralling the herd; Nikolai and Woodward were in one, whilst Jack and Collete were in another. Jack sat in the passenger seat in the jeep at the left, as Collete drove to keep pace with the herd; it was Jack who had suggested using the Jeeps to herd them back to their paddock. Jack noticed a younger female breaking off from the herd, "That one's breaking off." Collete nodded and moved the Jeep in the animal's direction, herding it back to its companions. Eventually, the herd were returned to their paddock and the gate was closed behind them.

After the gate had closed, Jack jumped out of the Jeep and walked up to Nikolai and Woodward, beaming, "Sorted!" Nikolai gave him a look, "Not yet. We still have to figure out how this happened. You and Collete can head to the portal site; Drew hasn't been in contact and we want to know why. Woodward and I will look at the door." Jack and Collete nodded and turned to head to the portal site; however, Woodward took them to one side and said, "That was, without a doubt, the most exciting inspection I've ever done." Jack smiled at that.

After Jack and Collete had left, Nikolai and Woodward headed to the paddock door. Woodward asked Nikolai, "What could have happened? A technical malfunction would affect several of the paddocks; not just one. It could be human error…" At this, Nikolai shook his head, "No. The locks work automatically. The lock could be faulty; this happened with the Coelophysis paddock." Woodward nodded; Theodore had briefed him about that incident before he'd arrived. The two theories they'd had were now invalidated; maybe a closer look at the door would help them solve it…

As they both entered the room, the first thing they noticed was a tablet attached to the locking system. They both looked at each other; this opened up a whole new can of worms. Approaching it, Nikolai switched it on; to his surprise, it required no passcode. Whoever planted must have assumed it wouldn't have been found. Looking at the screen, his eyes widened in shock, "I don't think that this was an accident." As Woodward looked at him curiously, Nikolai elaborated, "This is remotely linked to the park computer terminal and sets a shutdown timer on the lock." Woodward's eyes widened, "This wasn't an accident; this was engineered." Nikolai nodded, "I do hope this isn't going to impact the report you'll give us." Woodward shook his head, "No; everything else was perfect. I'll have to put the incident down, but I'll tell Theodore your suspicions; and I'll enquire about any potential leads."

Drew stealithily walked up to the two groups of ornithopod and got ready to lift the portal remote. As his finger lingered over the button, he thought, " _Here goes nothing_ " …

Suddenly, an Australovenator burst out of the clearing and tore towards the herd; shortly after a second followed it. The Muttuburrasaurus and Leaellynasaura tore in the same direction, moving as if a single unified entity. Drew, trusting to luck, lifted the portal remote and pressed the button. After a couple of seconds, the portal whirred into life and the herd stampeded into it, moving as if a single entity. Drew cheered, "Yeah!"

Not all the Leaellynasaura made it, though.

An Australovenator bore down on an individual that had gotten lost in the chaos, grabbed it and, with one flick of its neck, killed it. It barely had time to regard its meal before the second barrelled into it and the two started roaring at each other. As the two theropods fought, Drew noticed that the dead ornithopod had tumbled to the floor; using a grabbing tool, he grabbed the carcass and began to pull it away from the two theropods. Noticing someone was trying to take their meat, the two theropods turned to Drew and roared at him. Their animosity forgotten, they both charged at Drew. Drew ran, still carrying the carcass, towards Cynthia.

Once the Australovenator had gotten close enough, he yelled "Now!" and she activated the portal. Drew dived out of the way, just as the two theropods charged through, into the present. At this success, Drew smirked, "Ole." Turning to Cynthia, he nodded and said, "Get the Steropodon; it's time we headed home." After they had retrieved the Steropodon, they smiled at each other and walked through the portal, closing it once they had reached the park.

Once the portal had been shut down, Jack walked up to Drew and Cynthia and beamed, "Welcome back, fearless leader!" Drew looked curiously at him, "Anything happen while we were gone?" Jack, still smiling, said, "Oh, you know, the usual. Good things and bad." As he said this, he turned to look at Collete, who smiled back, "Mostly good." Drew gave him a quizzical look; was there something Jack wasn't telling them? Throwing all caution to the wind, he asked, "Something big happen?" Jack shrugged, "Kind of."

Jack filled them in on the inspection, Xingcun's integration into the Mei long group and the Borealosaurus escape. After Jack had finished, Cynthia gave him a look and said, somewhat enigmatically, "I misjudged you", before walking off with Drew. Jack gave a curious look, "What's all that about?" Collete shrugged, "Who knows?"

Soon all the Early Cretaceous Antarctic creatures were all transferred to their new homes. The Steropodon were kept in a small indoor pen in Discovery Outpost. They were currently exploring their new home, rooting for food in the leaf litter.

All the other animals had been moved to a new section in Mesozoic Tropics. The Australovenator pair had been provided a small forest area to roam about in. They were currently napping in the sun, waiting for their next meal to arrive. The Koolasuchus had been provided with a large river area to swim in. They were all swimming around their new home, waiting for their next meal.

The largest enclosure contained the Muttuburrasaurus herd and the Leaellynasaura, who were now roaming their new forested home, browsing from the trees and bushes.

Meanwhile, Xingcun lay beside his new adoptive parents, sleeping through the night; he slept peacefully, a small part of him happy to be part of a family once again. The breeding season would soon arrive, and he would have to compete for their attention with a gaggle of younger "siblings", but for now he had their undivided attention.

And Jack Denham and Collete Dubois were meeting up in the park bar for a "friendly" drink. As they sat, Jack was telling Collete an anecdote, "And then he got his head stuck in the cup!" Collete laughed uproariously, "That's so funny! You know, I'm having a wonderful time tonight." Jack smiled at her and said, "Me too." He paused, "Today was a good day; we got a lonely little dinosaur a new family, we stopped an escape and we passed a safety audit. I don't want to tempt fate, but things are looking up." Jack briefly lifted his glass and said, "Y'know, I propose a toast; to surprises." Colllete lifted her glass in response and smiled at him, "To surprises."

All was as it should have been at Prehistoric Earth.

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth**

 **The team go back to Cretaceous Mongolia**

 **(A small theropod runs through a desert)**

 **To rescue one of the most bizzare dinosaurs ever**

 **(A large, herbivorous dinosaur with long claws on its arms bellows at them)**

 **Meanwhile, back at the park, the staff attempt to find two baby dinosaurs a new home**

 **(An adult Allosaurus sniffs two juveniles.**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Storm In The Desert!**

Meanwhile…

Nikolai Koshkin walked down the hallway to his office. He recapped the events of the day in his mind; the Borealosaurus escape still weighed on his mind. Whilst the sauropods had been quickly rounded up and returned to their paddocks, there had been something suspicious about the turn of events. The similarity to the Coelophysis incident had been uncanny – and Nikolai believed coincidence had no place in a rational person's mind.

Thankfully, Woodward had given them a clean safety bill – it appeared he shared Nikolai's convictions about the root cause of the Borealosaurus incident. This had not been some accident; this had been engineered. Someone had remotely hacked one of the park's computers and attached a shutdown timer to the door lock on the Borealosaurus paddock in order to deactivate the door lock – to what aim Nikolai still could not figure out

Was it an attempt at sabotage by some external force? Some disgruntled employee who was plotting a mutiny and needed an inciting incident? Something in between? Options swarmed in Nikolai's head; any possible option was on the cards.

Nikolai had kept the timer and placed it in his office; he could not inform Drew without any sort of evidence that the escape had, in fact, been sabotage. Otherwise, Drew would make a few snide comments about his being paranoid. However, maybe Drew would take this matter seriously; after all, there was evidence…

Nikolai opened the door to his office. Immediately, something wasn't right.

Everything seemed to be exactly as he had left it; his memo about the safety audit lay half-finished, exactly as it had been when he had left and the mission report and other memos in the office had remained untouched. At first sight, there seemed to be no indication that someone had entered his office; however, there was an indicator. Scanning the office, he quickly realised what had happened…

The timer was gone! Nikolai had placed the timer on an exact spot on his desk, to show to Drew that the incident had been more than a mere systems failure; something more than a little accident. However, whilst he was out, someone had come in and taken it.

What the hell was happening?

Animals rescued:

Leaellynasaura amicagraphica: 21 (8 males, 13 females)

Australovenator wintonensis: 2 (1 male, 1 female)

Muttaburrasaurus langdoni: 16 (9 males, 7 females)

Koolasuchus cleelandi: 3 (1 male, 2 females)

Steropodon galmani: 5 (3 males, 2 females)


	64. Storm In The Desert Part 1

Meanwhile, back at the park, Leon was continuing his work with Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. It had been two-and-a-half months since he had begun his training programme; they had been both whistle-trained and responded to verbal commands. Now, it was time to do a test run; to see if they could herd the lure into a certain point. Leon, using a remote control, moved a dinosaur-shaped lure into the enclosure at high speed. As usual, the three allosaurs dived after the lure, pursuing it wherever it went, snapping at it like sheepdogs. However, suddenly, as Leon turned the lure towards the door, Drogon dived in front of it, snapping at it and causing it to move backwards. Leon smiled; this was turning out entirely as planned. As he attempted to move the lure right, Viserion blocked its way, forcing it to move back the way it came. Rhaegal hampered an attempt to move the lure towards the bottom fence. Eventually, the allosaurs boxed the lure into a corner. Drogon hesitated, as did the others, and turned to look at Leon, as if waiting for a command. Leon said, "Leave", and the three the three allosaurs backed off, allowing the lure to leave the paddock. After this, Leon threw them each a piece of meat.

Leon reflected; the training was going well. Recent events, such as Drew bringing back the Gigantotosaurus and the Borealosaurus escape, had convinced him that he had made the right decision in beginning it. Someday, something would happen; something big, dangerous and toothy would escape and go on a rampage across the park. Having big, toothy apex predators on their side would tip the balance back in their favour. However, there was still some work left to go yet; Leon didn't yet feel safe having them out in the field. He'd told Nikolai that when the head of security had asked for his aid during the Borealosaurus escape.

Suddenly, Leon's walkie-talkie rang and he reached to pick it up. Lifting to his ear, he said, "This is Leon, who is it?" Jack's voice crackled out the other end, "Leon, mate, it's me! I'm heading for Drew's office and I thought you were going on the mission today". Leon inwardly cringed; he knew he'd forgotten something. Leon sighed, "I'll see you there in five minutes; I'm done with the allosaurs anyway."

Meanwhile, Drew Luczynski and Jack Denham were sitting in Drew's office, waiting for Leon to arrive. Drew was checking his watch and tutting, whilst Jack was looking absent-mindedly at the celing, saying monotonously, "He said he'd be here around about now." Suddenly, a voice said, "I'm here". He turned to see Leon walking towards him, a small smile on his face. "Where were you?", Drew asked, "You were supposed to be here five minutes ago". In response, he rolled his eyes and replied, "I was busy with the allosaurs; that's why I was late. Anyway, what are we going after?"

Drew smiled and showed them a picture of a large dinosaur. It was very bizarre-looking; it had a small head atop a long neck with a bipedal gait and a heavy, deep, broad body, with short, stocky legs. Its arms were its most striking feature, almost disproportionately long compared to its body, with incredibly long, vicious-looking claws tipping its three fingers. Leon smiled, "Therizinosaurus. I was kind of hoping we'd go after it someday."

Jack raised his eyebrow quizzically and said to Drew, "That's the dinosaur with the giant claws, isn't it? The one that lived alongside Velociraptor?" Drew nodded, "Yeah."

Leon turned to Jack and said, "Therizinosaurus was a very weird dinosaur; for many years no one knew what kind of dinosaur it was or even what it ate. When it was first discovered, it was thought to be a giant turtle; since then people have claimed it used its claws to eviscerate dinosaurs or even crack open termite nests. Now we know that it was a herbivore, and used the claws to pull down branches."

Drew nodded and said, "Thank you, Leon. However, we're not just going after Therizinosaurus; Theodore also gave us Velociraptor as a secondary target." He turned to Jack, smiling, "However, I understand that's why you were so eager to go on the mission, Jack?" Jack smiled, "Correct, fearless leader; I'd clean out Lightning's arsehole if that was what it took for me to go on this mission. What are we waiting for?"

And, so, they headed to the portal site. When they got there, Leon and Drew were surprised to see Collete standing on the walkway; however, Jack simply smiled, "Dropped by to see me off?" Collete rolled her eyes, walked up to them and said, "I came to wish you good luck on the mission today." After a brief pause, she said, "All of you", as if to clarify that she wasn't meaning anyone specific. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal whirred into life. Drew put the remote in his pocket and, after securing it, turned to Leon, who nodded, and Jack, who gave him a wink and a thumbs-up. Drew nodded at them both. As they turned to head towards the portal, Jack suddenly heard Collete shouting from the walkway, "Oh, and Jack? Promise me you'll be careful." Jack nodded to her, and he, Drew and Leon entered through the portal.

As they left the portal, the first thing that hit the team was the heat. They looked around to see where they had emerged. They had emerged on a vast expanse of sand, stretching for miles. Aside from occasional clusters of hardy-looking desert plants, the vast expanse was almost featureless. Jack looked around the vast expanse of sand, "Jeez, Alice was telling me that this was what the Permian deserts were like. God, I hope we don't run into any sandstorms when we're here." Leon looked around the vast expanse and said, almost philosophically, "It's amazing, isn't it? 75 million years and the Gobi Desert still hasn't changed." Drew looked at his teammates, "Sightseeing's over, guys! We have to start looking for our targets." Jack gave him a quizzical look, "So, what do you propose?" Drew sighed, "We find a watering hole. Those are like candy stores to desert animals." Drew looked at the ground and noticed a series of tracks. They clearly weren't Therizinosaurus tracks. Firstly, they were small; the animal that made them was likely to only be about the size of a sheep. Secondly, each was arranged in two pairs, with the back pair being larger than the front and each pair having three toes. This indicated the animal was a quadruped. Drew sighed, "I've found some tracks. We'll follow them; animals always head for food and water."

Following the footprints, they walked a considerable distance before coming to a large sand dune. After about an hour, Jack looked at the hill, "So, fearless leader, the animals we've been tracking are just over that hill?" Drew nodded, as he began climbing the hill, Jack and Leon following him. When they reached the top, they heard a loud grunting noise, like some large pig. The three adventurers looked at each other; whatever these animals were, they were about to find out.


	65. Storm In The Desert Part 2

Looking over the top of the hill, they saw a small desert lake, sustaining a scrubby growth of drought-resistant desert plants. Around the lake, several medium-sized dinosaurs were browsing from the plants or drinking from the lake. Each was a quadruped about six-feet-long; the size of a sheep, with longer hind legs than front legs, and a long, thick tail. Their skin was tan and leathery, with bristles on the back and the end of the tail. The most distinctive feature of the body was the head, which was almost disproportionately large for its body and was dominated by a large bony neck frill; in the males, the frill was half the length of the skull and was brightly coloured. Each dinosaur had a large, parrot-like frontal beak and muscular jaws, as well as a bump on the snout, which was more pronounced in the males than the females. Whilst they were the size of sheep, they had the cantankerous, bad-tempered demeanour of pigs, constantly pushing and shoving against each other.

Leon knew what they were immediately, "These are Protoceratops; they're a small ceratopsian that's common in these regions. The males probably used the nasal bumps in combat; those nasal bumps formed the basis of later ceratopsians' horns. According to the fossil record, they nested in groups; they probably came here to look for a nesting site." Watching the dinosaurs, Jack said, curiously, "How do we get this lot back through the portal?" In response to this, Drew smirked, "I've got a plan, and it's a cracker… Jack, can I have the horn?"

Back at the park, Khatin, Linda, Collete and several other staff members were standing in Discovery Outpost, with two juvenile Allosaurus in large pet carriers. These allosaurs had been found, orphaned in a Jurassic drought, and had spent the past three months in the care of the park's veterinary staff until they decided what to do with them. What to do with them had been up for debate for quite a while. However, inspired with what had happened with Xingcun, the Mei long, and how he had been successfully adopted by one of the park's breeding pairs, Linda had come up with an idea.

Linda explained the plan, "We're going to introduce the juvenile allosaurs to Balerion, the adult female, and see if she'll adopt them. Female allosaurs apparently had very strong parental instincts, so there's the possibility that her maternal instincts might take over and have her take them in." Collete briefly said, somewhat uneasily, "I've got a few problems with this plan… What if it doesn't work? What if she rejects them or tries to attack them or something?" It was Khatin who spoke, "That's a risk we'll simply have to take. There is a possibility it might work; and, if it does, it might help them greatly. We can't substitute for their own species."

Meanwhile, back in Cretaceous Mongolia, Drew was implementing his plan to bring back the Protoceratops. Clambering down the sand dune, Drew silently approached the Protoceratops, which all turned to look at him, and suddenly began blaring the horn at the dinosaurs. In response to this sudden, new sound, the Protoceratops began to snort and grunt aggressively at Drew. He continued to blare the horn until, with an aggressive snort from the leader, they all charged towards Drew. When they had gotten close enough, Leon opened the portal and all the Protoceratops charged through into the present.

Once the last had gone through, Jack and Leon joined Drew at the bottom of the sand dune, with Leon cheering "That went perfectly!" Drew smiled, "Did you have any doubts?" Jack chuckled, "No, I didn't, fearless leader. This is shaping up to be our easiest mission yet…"

Suddenly, a low, crocodilian growl reverberated through the air and they briefly noticed a large, dark shape move stealthily through the desert, moving so fast it was practically a blur. After a few seconds, the growl became louder and a gigantic theropod moved over the brow of the sand dune and by the oasis. It walked towards the small lake, bent its head down and drank.

Drew, Jack and Leon stood, rooted to the spot as the theropod before him scanned the clearing; they did not want this gigantic predator to notice them. They breathed a sigh of relief when the theropod ignored them and continued to drink from the lake. Now, they could get a look at it in greater detail. Whilst the Giganotosaurus back at the park were larger than it, it was still very large; from head to tail it must have been almost forty feet long. However, it seemed much more massive than the others; it was incredibly powerfully built. It was a dark, sandy brown with a tan underbelly, gradating to a greyish brown on its arms and legs. Its head was large, broad and powerful-looking and a snarl revealed broad, powerful-looking teeth. Its arms were disproportionately small in comparison to its massive body and its hands had two fingers. It looked an intimidating sight and, before it, they felt as insignificant as a mouse. Drew, Jack and Leon began to slowly back away from the giant, in the hope that it wouldn't notice them. Suddenly, the theropod paused and sniffed the air, before turning its head to look at them. The three adventurers went rigid; they'd been found.

The theropod let out a low roar, before turning towards Drew, Jack and Leon, regarding them with a vicious coldness. It moved, slowly and surely, toward them, its massive strides meaning that it was quickly covering the distance towards him. The three humans all turned to look at each other; there was only one sensible thing to do. Run.

They turned and sprinted away from the oasis. The theropod, its prey drive activated, took off after them. After a short distance, they reached a scrubby forest, dominated by low shrubs and grasses, with patchy trees. Drew, Jack and Leon, tired and bruised, turned back to look at their pursuer, now advancing towards them; whilst its average top speed was slower than theirs, it had a longer stride length. They stood no chance, unless he hid. They ran towards a large log and dived behind it. As they hid, they saw the theropod's cold yellow eyes staring at them and smelt its hot, stinking breath. However, having lost interest, it walked off.

Once they were sure it had gone, Drew, Jack and Leon got out from behind the log and looked around, to get their breath back. Jack turned to Drew and Leon and said, "What was that thing?" Leon breathed out and said, "Tarbosaurus. A relative of T-rex and the apex predator around here. We're lucky to be alive." Jack breathed out in relief, "Lucky? That's something we rarely are." He turned to Drew, "So, fearless leader, what do we do now?" Drew sighed, "We keep looking."


	66. Storm In The Desert Part 3

After their narrow escape, Drew, Jack and Leon hiked through the desert, keeping a watchful eye out for Tarbosaurus or any other predator. As they walked, they noticed that the desert had given way to scrubland, with herbs, large shrubs and other low-growing plants dominating the area. There were no real trees as such, but there were large shrubs, about as high as Jack was tall, which were packed closely together. As they walked through the scrub, something would move through the shrubs periodically; this increased in frequency as they went further in. On occasion, they would also hear a squawking caw, echoing through the bushes. Suddenly, they walked out of the shrubland into a large, sandy clearing. The time had passed quickly; they looked up in the sky and noticed that the sun was setting.

Jack turned to Drew and asked, "What do we do?" Drew turned to his teammates and said, "Scan the undergrowth; this is perfect habitat for desert animals. If we wait, some might-". Suddenly, the shrubs rustled all around them and a familiar barking caw echoed through the clearing. The three adventurers all turned to each other in a shock realisation; the creatures that had been following them through the shrubs had caught up with them.

The caws got louder and louder as the bushes rustled, before a theropod dinosaur emerged in the clearing in front of them. It was about six feet long and came up to the three humans' waists; its body was covered in thick, sandy-brown feathers, apart from its face. It had a long snout, a mouth full of sharp teeth and large, intelligent-looking amber eyes. It stood on two powerful hind legs, with three-toed taloned feet; the second toe was larger than the others and held aloft, tipped in a vicious-looking, sickle-shaped claw. The creature cocked its head curiously at them.

They all knew what it was immediately. "Velociraptor", Jack said, breathlessly, "In the flesh…". Drew breathed out, "These raptors have been following us for quite some time; we must have walked into their territory." Suddenly, the Velociraptor threw back its head and cawed loudly; several others cawed in reply. The three humans backed closer to each other as the undergrowth rustled all around them. Suddenly, several more burst out from different angles, surrounding them. However, the raptors were hesitating, as if wondering whether or not to attack. The three humans were utterly rigid, not wanting to risk an attack.

During the standoff, Jack turned to Drew, "If you've got a plan, fearless leader, now would be a brilliant time to implement it." Drew turned to Jack and said, "Pass me the bait bag." Jack said, quietly, "Why?" Drew turned to him and said, "There's meat in the bag; we can distract them from us." Jack quietly passed the bag to Drew, not trying to anger the Velociraptors. Once Drew had been given the bag, he grabbed a dead rat from the bag and threw it away from them. The raptors followed the dead rat and eagerly began fighting over it. Drew used the distraction to activate the portal and threw another, larger rat through it. The raptors dived after it, moving as if a unified entity. After the last one had gone through, Drew shut off the portal.

Jack turned to Drew, "So, fearless leader, what do we do now?" Drew sighed, "We make camp. And we go looking for Therizinosaurus in the morning. It's going to be dangerous out here in the dark."

Meanwhile, the plan to get the juvenile allosaurs "adopted" by Balerion was well underway. Linda, Khatin, Collete and Yolanda, who were holding the juvenile allosaurs in a pet carrier, were all standing at the allosaur paddock, by Balerion's section of the enclosure. Prior to Leon going on the mission, they had informed him of the plan, to which he had given his support and information about the territorial patterns of the allosaurs; after they'd been brought back, the adults had had a scuffle and divided the exhibit into three territories, one for each of them.

Balerion, recently fed, was napping in the sun. The plan had been very simple; the juvenile allosaurs would be released on an area of the left side of the enclosure, where Balerion had marked out as her territory. Balerion having been fed before would reduce the risk of her trying to kill the youngsters; she already had a full stomach.

Linda explained to the assembled personnel, "Balerion is larger and more aggressive than the males. If we can get the juveniles under her protection, that reduces the risk of one of the males trying to kill them." And, so the plan was in motion. Yolanda and Collete put the pet carriers down, opened it and the juvenile allosaurs gingerly walked into the enclosure, wobbling on unsteady legs. Linda turned to Collete, "If anything goes wrong, if we hear so much as a growl, we tranq Balerion and get them out of there." Collete nodded.

After the juveniles had walked a considerable distance, Balerion turned to look at them. She walked towards them and sniffed them eagerly; she could tell that they were of her kind, but not her kin. Linda, Khatin, Collete and the others waited tensely; the next few minutes were crucial. Balerion could, possibly attack, or even kill, them. However, she was more curious than aggressive, her movements quiet and measured, as if not to frighten them, as she let out quiet, reassuring vocalisations. Eventually, curiosity satisfied, Balerion walked away. The two juvenile allosaurs stayed rooted to the spot, as if uncertain as to what to do next. Balerion stood still, turned to look at them and cocked her head, as if indicating for them to follow her.

However, the juveniles were still apprehensive, as if waiting for a cue. After a few minutes, the juveniles gingerly walked towards Balerion. Once they had reached her, all three dinosaurs briefly turned to regard the humans before disappearing into the forest. The team all looked at each other, smiling at each other. The plan had worked on the first attempt; two orphaned little dinosaurs had a new family.

Back in Cretaceous Mongolia, Drew, Jack and Leon had set up camp on the edge of the scrubland, by a large, fallen log. They had made a small fire in order to keep any predators in the night away from the camp. Whilst Tarbosaurus were probably diurnal, other predators might come out during the night. Sitting by the fire, Drew yawned, "I'm headed off to bed. Leon, the watch is yours; Jack, you can stay with him if you like", as he got up and headed to his tent. Jack and Leon watched him go, before Jack turned to Leon and asked, "So… how are things?" Leon shrugged and said, "Good, good."

At this, Jack nodded thoughtfully and said, "You haven't really been on many missions, lately. Although, I guess you're busy with the allosaurs." Jack paused awkwardly and said to Leon, "So… from what Adrian told me, you and Drew go back a long time; care to tell me more about it?" There was an awkward pause, before Jack added, "If you're OK with it, of course. I don't want to force you."

Leon sighed, "Fine. I've known each other for over 10 years; we first met in 8th grade biology. The teacher put me, Drew and Adrian in a group together and we found ourselves liking each other. We formed a little trio after that; I hadn't had much friends for a long time, so Drew and Adrian's companionship really helped me. But… are you sure you want to hear this?" Jack shrugged and said, "Well, yeah." Leon exhaled, "However, Drew was always the popular one; president of the debating team, straight A's. Even after we graduated, success after success came to him; well, he's now in charge here. People always thought I was the sidekick; the follower, the hanger-on. It's not hard to be a little jealous; like I'm playing second fiddle."

Jack cocked his head and said, "Meaning?"

Leon sighed, "I'm only here because Drew put a good word for me in with Theodore; there are people who still think I'm not up to the task. Getting rammed by the Anomalocaris, dogpiled by the Megalograptus… that only strengthened everyone's convictions; someone has to be there to keep me out of trouble."

Jack smiled at him, and said, "Hey, hey, you've done great things, too. The allosaur training programme, which I'm sure is going to work, for one. What you did with the stegs whilst I was on the Microraptor mission, for another. Yeah, our fearless leader is the dude in charge, but without us, he wouldn't get anywhere. And he knows it."

It was Leon's turn to ask questions, "Jack… can I ask a question?" Jack raised his eyebrow, "Go ahead." Leon looked at him, "Nothing upsets you, does it? No matter what happens, you're always the same." Jack sighed, "The same, am I? Little you know." Leon continued, "You're always happy; you're always making jokes, always talking… How can you do that?" Jack gave Leon a pointed look, "Everyone assumes that if you're cracking jokes, you're happy. Why?"

Leon chuckled awkwardly, "Boy, you've changed since the Devonian mission." There was a brief, awkward pause; there'd almost been an unspoken agreement between the two not to mention it. However, there was no avoiding it now. "Remember the Devonian mission?" Jack sighed. Leon nodded, "You called me a hanger-on. You said I was useless and you hated me."

Jack smiled, "Hey, hey, I meant the hanger-on bit. I thought you were a walking textbook. That you were only hired because you were best mates with the boss." He sighed. "I didn't say I hated you; that I'm wrongly accused of. I never hated you; I thought you were unsuited for the job. I thought you were a 'bunny-hugger'. I thought you were only hired because you were Drew's friend. I never hated you. Not once. Did you hate me?"

For a moment, Leon was stunned at what he'd just now heard. Then his face fell, and he looked awkwardly at Jack, sighing, "A little bit". As he said this, he hung his head. "I mean, you should've told me that before. I thought you did from the way you acted". Jack smiled, "I didn't know what you thought about me. Amazing how things change."

There was a brief pause. Leon gave Jack, who was chuckling slightly, a quizzical look and said, "Thanks. For telling me that". Jack smiled, "My pleasure". As Leon got up to his tent, he turned to Jack and said, "What did you mean by amazing how things change?". Jack smiled again, "We couldn't have had this conversation before". Leon gave him a quizzical look, "Why?", to which Jack responded, "'Cause we weren't friends before."

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes; it was as if several small entities were moving towards the camp. Jack and Leon's eyes widened and they looked at each other. "Get Drew", Jack whispered, "I think we have company."


	67. Storm In The Desert Part 4

Drew awoke to hear something moving through the bushes and Jack and Leon yelling. Instantaneously readying himself for some giant predator, he rushed outside to see Jack and Leon sitting by the fire. He turned to them, frantically, "What's the alarm?" Jack giggled in response, "Nothing, fearless leader. Look." He pointed at several small dinosaurs standing by the camp site. Each was about three feet long and had a long neck, a small head, with a beak and a short tail. Their bodies were covered in sandy brown feathers, becoming darker on the legs and tail. Their most distinctive feature was their short, stubby limbs which only had a single finger ending in one large claw.

Leon knew what they were immediately, "They're Monokyus; a kind of dinosaur known as the alvarezsaurs. They're insectivores; that big claw is used to dig out the insects that they eat." Drew smiled, "And they're right here in front of us. Perfect opportunity; Jack, get the bait bag. There are insects in there." Jack got the bait bag and emptied a trail of dead cockroaches, which the little dinosaurs followed. Once they had gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal, allowing them to go through, one by one, into the present. Once the last Monokyus had gone through, Drew shut off the portal, smiled and said, "Let's all get some sleep."

Meanwhile, back at the park, Collete was watching Balerion, the female allosaur and her two new adopted "children". Balerion had left the juveniles for the moment to get some food for them from the communal feeding area, leaving them in a hollowed-out log for their protection.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled and an Allosaurus emerged. However, this was not Balerion; this was one of the adult males, who had been named Meraxes. Meraxes sniffed the air; he had smelt a familiar odour and he was hungry. He moved closer and closer to the hollowed log, sniffing out the two baby allosaurs, who began to twitch and squeal in fear. As he approached the log, Collete lifted her communicator and rang in, "Collete Dubois reporting. There's something going on at the allosaur enclosure…"

However, just as Meraxes reached the log and was about to tear it open, he was suddenly cut off by a loud roar. He turned round to see Balerion standing in front of him. In response to the roar, he hissed defiantly, in an attempt to stand up to this larger female. Balerion approached him, snarlin and reared up, lifted her arms, showing off her powerfully-clawed fingers, and lowered her head, showing her horns in profile. This was a threat gesture. Faced with the larger individual, Meraxes backed off and slunk back off to his side of the enclosure. As he left, Balerion chased him, nipping at his heels like a sheepdog. Once he was out of sight, the two juveniles moved a bit closer to their "mother" and Balerion roared in triumph.

The next morning, Drew was suddenly awoken by a loud, honking bellow. Instananeously readying himself for whatever they might find outside, he clambered out of his tent and met Jack and Leon. Shortly after, he saw what creatures had awoken them.

A herd of incredibly large duck-billed dinosaurs was walking past the camp; the largest was some forty feet long. They were largely a greenish brown, with tan stripes on the flanks and black stripes on the tails. However, their most distinctive feature was their long, spike-like cranial crest, projected upwards and backwards, starting from over the eyes.

Jack turned to Leon and said, "I trust you know what those are." Leon nodded and said, "These are Saurolophus; a common hadrosaur in the region. They're amongst the largest of hadrosaurs and are common prey items to Tarbosaurus…" Jack rolled his eyes and said "Yep yep yep, Leon. Anyone have any idea where they're going?" Drew shrugged and said, "Probably to find water. The plan is we follow them."

Drew, Jack and Leon trekked in the direction of the herd and, after about an hour, reached a stand of forest surrounding a large lake. The Saurolophus had all reached the lake and were either drinking from the waters or browsing from the trees. However, they weren't the only dinosaurs by the lakeside. A small group of dinosaurs were also at the lake. They were large; the biggest was some thirty feet long and was as tall as a giraffe. Each had a small head atop a long neck with a bipedal gait and a heavy, deep, broad body, with short, stocky legs. Their arms were their most striking feature, almost disproportionately long compared to their bodies, with incredibly long, vicious-looking claws tipping its three fingers. Their feathers were mostly a greenish brown, being lighter on the arms and tail, with a brown-feathered neck and head. Drew smiled, "Therizinosaurus. We've found our targets. This could be our easiest mission yet…" Jack facepalmed and said, "Please don't say that." Drew said, "Why?" Jack responded with, "'Cos, fearless leader, every time someone says that, something bad happens…"

Suddenly, a Saurolophus looked up and sniffed the air, before letting out a brief, honking bellow. The herbivores suddenly went on edge. The Therizinosaurus swished their clawed arms from side to side and hissed, whilst the Saurolophus stamped and bellowed at whatever had spooked them. "Wonder what's got them so spooked?", Jack said to Drew. Leon suddenly turned behind them, his eyes widened in shock, and said, "That." Jack and Drew turned to see a Tarbosaurus, so big and so motionless that they didn't see it, standing, hidden amongst the trees. The tyrannosaur looked at the three humans with a cold glare, before moving past them and closer to the Saurolophus. Bunching together, the youngsters at the centre, the Saurolophus attempted to scare the predator off by stamping their feet and bellowing, inflating the large sacs on their heads.

Drew turned to his team quietly, "We'll have to get this done quick; we don't want the Tarbosaurus noticing us." Jack briefly looked at something nearby and said, "Uh, Drew… I might be jumping the gun here, but I think you should be worrying about more than just a Tarbosaurus." At this statement, Leon turned to Jack curiously, "Jack, what could be worse than a Tarbosaurus?" Suddenly, a second Tarbosaurus burst out from the trees and tore towards the herd. Jack turned to Leon and said, "Another Tarbosaurus; does that answer your question?"

The Saurolophus stampeded, moving as if a single unified entity, with the Tarbosaurus in hot pursuit; whilst the hadrosaurs were faster, the Tarbosaurus could easily keep pace with the hadrosaurs. Not wanting to miss the opportunity that this afforded, Drew turned to Jack and Leon and yelled, "Now!" Hurriedly, Jack and Leon set up the portal in the direction to which the herd was stampeding. Not changing their course, the entire herd stampeded through the portal, into the present.

The Tarbosaurus, surprised at the sudden disappearance of their prey, turned their attention to the Therizinosaurus. Advancing towards the bird-like dinosaurs. The lead Therizinosaurus raised his massive, clawed arm and slammed it into the tyrannosaur's head, sending it spinning. Its companion charged towards the Therizinosaurus, which threw its arm into the dinosaur's flank, leaving three long gashes on its side. One of the Tarbosaurus snarled at the Therizinosaurus, which swished its arms from side to side and hissed menacingly in response. Defeated, the two tyrannosaurs slunk off… and turned their attention to the three humans.

As the two giant theropods moved towards them, Drew's eyes widened, "Oh. Crap." Drew, Jack and Leon ran in different directions; the two Tarbosaurus followed Drew, cornering him behind a hollow log. Jack and Leon watched in horror as the tyrannosaurs advanced towards Drew, "Oh my God", Jack said, "They're going to kill him." Leon looked in horror, "What can we do?", to which Jack replied, "There's always something we can do. Pass me the horn."

As the Tarbosaurus bore down on him, Drew could smell their fetid breath and feel their cold stares. Drew reflected; he'd had many near-death experiences on these missions. But, this would be how it ended; eaten by tyrannosaurs in Cretaceous Mongolia.

Suddenly, he heard the horn blaring; that was odd. The Tarbosaurus paused their remorseless advance, and turned to the source of the sound; Jack and Leon. The Tarbosaurus snarled in indignation and advanced towards Jack and Leon, the former of whom kept on blaring the horn; once they had gotten close enough, Leon activated the portal, sending both of the tyrannosaurs through to the present.

Drew turned to Jack and Leon, "Why did you do that? You guys could have died." Jack smiled and said, "Drew, we're a team. Watching each other's back is what we do. Now, all we need to do is bring back our targets…" So, they approached the Therizinosaurus, who were peacefully browsing by the lake, and left a trail of plants as bait for the dinosaurs to follow. Once they had gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal, sending them through, into the present. Once the last had gone through, Drew turned to Jack and Leon and said, "Let's go home."

When they walked through into the park, they met Kyle, Linda and Collete at the walkway and walked up to them. Jack turned to Collete and said, "Told you I'd stay out of trouble", to which she smiled at him in response. Meanwhile, Leon asked Linda, "How'd it go?", to which she smiled, "It went perfectly." Kyle asked Drew, "What happened whilst you guys were gone?", to which Drew smiled, "I'll explain it to you later." In response, the head keeper rolled his eyes.

Soon, all the Cretaceous Mongolia creatures had been transferred to their new homes. The Velociraptors had been moved to a paddock in Raptor Territory and were currently napping in the shade of a large tree, waiting for food to arrive. The Tarbosaurus pair had been moved into a large paddock in Theropod Kingdom and were currently roaming their territory, waiting for their next meal. Meanwhile, the Mononkyus were being kept in Discovery Outpost, in the yard the juvenile allosaurs had vacated, and were currently searching through their exhibit for the insects that the keepers had hidden for them.

The Saurolophus, Protoceratops and Therizinosaurus had been transferred to Mesozoic Safaris to join the eclectic mix of herbivores there. Each group had been transported in the park's large containment trucks. The Therizinosaurus were in the forest section of the enclosure, browsing from the trees, the Protoceratops were resuming their mating season battles, whilst the Saurolophus were mingling with the other herbivores in the plains section.

Meanwhile in the vet offices, Linda was checking on the long-term patients; at this moment, numbering only Cirrus. Linda smiled at how well the day had gone; their plan to get the baby allosaurs adopted had worked perfectly. Things were going well; which the staff of Prehistoric Earth couldn't say all that often. As she left, so Harry could relieve her, Cirrus walked over and stuck his head out. Linda briefly paused and stroked his head.

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth**

 **The team go back to Cretaceous Texas**

 **(Two large theropods move towards a Jeep)**

 **To rescue the biggest crocodile ever**

 **(A giant crocodile grabs a hadrosaur)**

 **Meanwhile, back at the park, the staff find they may have bitten off more than they can chew**

 **(A pack of Velociraptors surround Jack)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Every Golden Scale!**

Animals rescued:

Saurolophus angustirostrus: 25 (12 males, 13 females)

Protoceratops andrewsi: 36 (13 males, 23 females)

Velociraptor mongoliensis: 6 (3 males, 3 females)

Mononykus olecranus: 14 (7 males, 7 females)

Tarbosaurus bataar: 2 (1 male, 1 female)

Therizinosaurus cheloniformis: 11 (3 males, 8 females)


	68. Every Golden Scale Part 1

_How doth the little crocodile_

 _Improve his shining tail_

 _And pour the waters of the Nile_

 _On every golden scale_

 _How cheerfully he seems to grin_

 _How neatly spreads his claws_

 _And welcomes little fishes in_

 _With gently smiling jaws!_

 _Alice's Adventures In Wonderland_ , Lewis Carroll

The two huge sauropods browsed tranquilly in Mesozoic Safaris. Each was tannish-green in colour, with a lighter underbelly and stripes on their tails. A small row of iguana-like spines ran down the middle of the back to the edge of the tail. One was significantly smaller than the other, its skin slightly lighter and its back spines slightly shorter. These were two male Argentinosaurus, the largest of all the dinosaurs. The large male had been named Thunder and the smaller male had been named Lightning.

Drew was sitting in Mesozoic Safaris, on his way to his office, watching the two sauropods. True, there was a mission today, but he figured he could stop off for a while, to see how Lightning was. The past couple of months or so had been hectic and there was a mission today, but the rest of his team were busy, so he could have a bit of a stop whilst he was on his way.

To be honest, Drew had personal reasons for visiting. Drew had found Lightning, seriously injured, in Cretaceous Argentina, and had spent a harrowing night defending him from a roving pack of Giganotosaurus, before Thunder's sudden arrival had scared them off. The two sauropods had spent a lot of their time together since they had been brought back to the park. Drew looked at his watch; he had to get to his office before his team got there.

A small group of Othnielosaurus were browsing on ferns near to the large sauropods. Suddenly, a loud, squealing noise echoes through the area and a Protoceratops appeared, shoving the Othnielosaurus out of the way and started eating the ferns. The smaller ornithopods retreated. The huge sauropods paid no attention to this.

Meanwhile, Leon was continuing his work with Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. It had been three months since he had begun his training programme; they had been both whistle-trained and responded to verbal commands. Now, it was time to do a test run; to see if they could herd the lure into a certain point. Leon, using a remote control, moved a dinosaur-shaped lure into the enclosure at high speed. As usual, the three allosaurs dived after the lure, pursuing it wherever it went, snapping at it like sheepdogs. However, suddenly, as Leon turned the lure towards the right fence, Drogon dived in front of it, snapping at it and causing it to move to the left. Leon smiled; this was turning out entirely as planned. As he attempted to move the lure left, Rhaegal blocked its way, forcing it to move back the way it came. Viserion hampered an attempt to move the lure towards the door. Eventually, the allosaurs boxed the lure into a corner. Drogon hesitated, as did the others, and turned to look at Leon, as if waiting for a command. Leon said, "Leave", and the three allosaurs backed off, allowing the lure to leave the paddock. After this, Leon threw them each a piece of meat.

Leon reflected; the training was almost done. Three months of tireless work and he'd almost done it; since he had started, certain events had convinced him that he had made the right decision in beginning it. He didn't want to be seen as a doomsayer, but he had a nagging feeling that someday, something would happen; something big, dangerous and toothy would escape and go on a rampage across the park. Having big, toothy apex predators on their side would tip the balance back in their favour. Leon smiled; he'd progressed well. It had been a lot of effort, but he felt ready to have them out in the field. Now, all they needed was a situation; hopefully, there wouldn't be one. However, it never hurt to be prepared. He briefly looked down at his watch and realised what time it was; he had to get to Drew's office.

Meanwhile, Drew and Cynthia were sitting in Drew's office, waiting for Leon to arrive. Drew was checking his watch, whilst Cynthia was looking around the room, rolled her eyes and tutted, "Late as always. Honestly, I don't know why you want " Suddenly, a voice said, "I'm here". He turned to see Leon walking towards him, a small smile on his face. "Where were you?", Drew asked, "You were supposed to be here five minutes ago". In response, he rolled his eyes and replied, "I was busy with the allosaurs; that's why I was late. Anyway, what are we going after?"

Drew smiled and showed them a picture of a giant crocodile. It looked a little like the Sarcosuchus already at the park, with the characteristic armoured body, four short, powerful legs and long, heavy tail that characterised them. However, its most striking difference was seen in its head; rather than a long, thin snout like the Sarcosuchus, it had the wide, short snout of an alligator. Leon smiled, "Deinosuchus."

Drew nodded, "Yeah. Deinosuchus was the largest crocodile that ever lived; at its largest, it was up to forty feet long. It was so big that it hunted large dinosaurs"

Leon turned to Drew and said, "Well, second largest; Sarcosuchus was a little bigger. Deinosuchus' closest living relative was the alligator; it's also been found in both freshwater and marine deposits, meaning it ventured out into the ocean sometimes, like the saltwater crocodile. There were no theropods in the region that reached its approximate size, meaning it was the region's top predator." Drew said, "Yeah. So, what are we waiting for?"

And so, they headed to the portal site. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal whirred into life. Drew put the remote in his pocket and, after securing it, turned to Leon and Cynthia, who nodded at him, before they went through the portal, into the past.

After the blinding light from the portal dimmed down, the first thing that hit the three adventurers was the heat. They looked around to notice that they were standing at the bottom of a sand dune, overlooking a patchy forest. In the distance, they could hear the crashing of waves; they were evidently near the coast.

Cynthia looked around and turned to Drew, "So, what's the plan?" Drew was about to speak when, suddenly, a loud honking sound echoed from the nearby forest and they turned to see two dinosaurs walking towards them. Each was about twenty feet long and covered in black and tan stripes, grading to lighter colours on the underbelly. Their most distinctive feature was their enormous, tube-shaped crest on their head, which swept backwards from the back of the skull and was red in colour.

The team all looked at each other; they didn't need Leon or the info packs to know what these were. They knew they were Parasaurolophus. Given their size, and the size of their crests, they must have been quite young. The two hadrosaurs looked around, hesitantly, as if scared of something. Leon turned to Drew and asked, "Wonder what's got them so spooked…" Suddenly, a low growl came from behind them. The two Parasaurolophus, spooked, ran off, towards the coastline.

The team turned to see two large theropods walking over the sand dune towards them. They were big; each was about thirty feet long. There was a vague resemblance between them and the Tarbosaurus back at the park. However, they were slightly lighter in build than their heavily-built relative. On their backs, a bristly coat of feathers could be noted, and their bodies were brown with greyish-white stripes. Drew looked at his team, eyes widened in horror, "Get into the jeep."

As they got into the Jeep, it turned out Leon knew what they were immediately, "Albertosaurus. One of the most common theropods in the region. It hunted hadrosaurs, like Parasaurolophus; now we know what those two were scared by."

The two Albertosaurus moved closer to the jeep, curiously exploring this new arrival. They occasionally snapped at the tires. Drew, Cynthia and Leon looked at each other; they couldn't leave with the two theropods blocking their escape path and it wouldn't be long before they attacked the Jeep. This moment of thought was interrupted when Drew suddenly activated the ignition, causing the theropods to back off.

Drew turned to his team and said, "They're not used to the sound of the engine or the smell of the exhaust. It'll keep them at bay long enough for us to get away" The two theropods hissed and snapped in displeasure, before loping off indignantly. Once they had gone, Drew turned to his team and said, "We're headed for the coast to look for our targets." The Jeep drove through the scrubby forest, towards the coastline.


	69. Every Golden Scale Part 2

After their encounter with the Albertosaurus, the drive down to the coastline of Cretaceous Texas was fairly uneventful. It was about an hour before they reached their destination. They got out of the Jeep and looked out at the beach they were on.

It was low tide and small waves gently lapped at the sand and it looked, for all in the world, like a deserted beach today. However, they were standing on the coast of the sea that cleaved North America in two during the Late Cretaceous; the Western Interior Seaway.

Meanwhile, Drew looked around this expanse of sand; there was no sign of Deinosuchus that he could see. Or no sign of much of anything. Of course, the story might be different elsewhere. Drew looked at both Cynthia and Leon and said, "Here's the plan; we'll search round the immediate area for any signs of Deinosuchus; if we don't find anything, we meet up and formulate a new plan. For this we'll split up; one of us will take a glider, whilst the other two will take the Jeep."

Leon said, almost immediately, "I'll take the glider and you guys can take the Jeep". Drew raised his eyebrows curiously, "Why?" Leon's reply was simply, "I need to think about a few things." After saying that, Leon went to get the glider, whilst Drew and Cynthia got the Jeep ready. The search had begun.

Leon had launched the glider and, after using its propeller for a short distance, was now soaring through the air, scanning the sea for giant crocodiles. He wasn't that high up; objects below weren't all but invisible specks, but it was high enough he felt isolated from the world. He smiled at that thought. The solitude was helpful. The solitude got him thinking.

Technically, it was because of Drew he was in this glider, right now. Unlike Drew, Leon hadn't been a Novum employee when Theodore had started recruiting. Rather, at that time, he had been a recently-unemployed animal handler who Drew had recommended to Theodore due to seeing a use Leon's extensive knowledge of animals. This hadn't gone down well with some and, when Leon had been hired, many thought he was a walking textbook and not up to the task required. Sadly, even after all this time, some people still thought this; despite all he could to dissuade this reputation, they still saw him as "the useless one".

He remembered Jack's conversation with him back in the Mongolia mission, in which Jack had told him that he wasn't a hanger-on, that people respected him. Jack's words should have rung true but, somehow, they didn't; whilst Jack had given him some reassurance, he still felt like people didn't have much confidence in his abilities. In particular, many people still thought Leon's plan about training the allosaurs was a fool's errand, doomed to end in either blood or tears.

Leon thought for a second; did he want to see himself vindicated? They said the best weapon was one you never used, but how would he have known his plan had worked otherwise? To be honest, Leon was thankful that most of the escapes had solved themselves fairly easily and Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion hadn't been needed. So far…

His train of thought was cut off by a sudden squawk. Leon looked up to see a flock of pterosaurs surrounding him. Each had long, pointed wings and a wingspan of about eight feet. They had long, slender, slightly upturned beaks, with a tall crest, like a single antler, which raised about above above its head. He knew what they were immediately; they were Nyctosaurus, a common pterosaur in the region. Leon leaned the glider towards the flock and pressed the button on the remote, and the portal whirred into life. The flock flew through, moving as if a single entity, into the present.

Right, eyes back on the prize. He looked down to the sea and saw a large, crocodilian shape swimming in the water. He knew what this was immediately; their target. Deinosuchus. His eyes followed the shape as it swam through the water, before it reached an estuary, the mouth of a river connected to the sea. As it reached the estuary, it turned left and swam up the river. Leon lifted his communicator and said, "Guys…"

On the ground, Drew and Cynthia's Jeep was trundling along the coastline, searching for any sign of Deinosuchus. So far, they had been unsuccessful. No Deinosuchus had hauled themselves out onto land from the water. All they had to do now was to wait until Leon got back to them; maybe he'd been a bit luckier.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Jack was standing in Raptor Territory, watching the Utahraptors, watching the pack. were in their individual holding areas, awaiting their physicals, pacing up and down irritably and hissing at the air. Jack walked up to the one containing Red, the alpha female; he'd spent most of his time with the Utahraptors working with her. If the alpha accepted him, he reasoned, the rest of the pack would. Jack gently reached his hand in and put it on Red's snout. Her snarls began to quiet, as she gradually calmed down. As he gently rubbed her snout (which he knew she liked), Jack smiled at the large Utahraptor, who cocked her head curiously at him. The two briefly regarded each other.

Suddenly, he heard someone clearing his throat behind him and he turned to see Collete Dubois standing behind him. Jack raised his eyebrow and asked her, "What are you doing here?" Collete shrugged and said, "Dropped in to visit. How well are you doing with the Utahraptors?" Jack smiled, "Good. I've got a connection with Red; she seems to have accepted me. That'll make it easier to bond with the rest of the pack."

Collete walked down the walkway to stand next to Jack. Looking around, Jack reflected, "It's amazing, you know." Collete looked, confused, "What do you mean?". Jack looked around and said, "Amazing how well things have been going lately. We've passed a safety audit, given two sets of orphaned dinosaurs new families, the list goes on and on… That's the thing I've realised; sometimes change is for the best. Like…"

He directed this last remark at Collete. Smiling, Collete raised her eyebrow and asked, "Like what?" Jack smiled, "Like you and me." Collete looked curiously and asked "Why not?" Jack opened his mouth to say something before suddenly realising himself and saying "Never mind." At this, Red let out an amused squawk. Jack's eyes darted around the room, as Collete chuckled and said "And, besides, it hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows; the Stegosaurus incidents, the Borealosaurus escape…" Jack shrugged, and said, "Hey, life isn't perfect." Collete briefly considered and smiled, "That's true." They turned, looked at each other and smiled, at once savouring and regretting the intimacy of the moment.

Suddenly, Jack and Collete's communicators whirred into life, "Can anyone hear me?". Jack and Collete looked at each other, both silently cursing this interruption of an intimate moment, and picked them up almost synchronously, with Jack saying, "This is Jack; what do you want?" Nikolai's voice crackled in, "Stay where you are; myself, Kyle and a team will be arriving here shortly. There's an emergency." Jack and Collete looked at each other, and Collete said, "What kind of emergency, Captain?" Nikolai replied, almost casually, "Well, the entire Velociraptor pack escaped; so, it's quite the emergency."

Back in Cretaceous Texas, the team were following the river in the Jeep; they had discussed going upriver in canoes, but with the presence of Deinosuchus, this was deemed too risky. After about an hour of driving, they reached a large, freshwater lake. Drinking by the lake was a herd of Parasaurolophus, including the two youngsters from earlier.

Resting on the banks of the other side of the lake were several large crocodiles. In fact, they were incredibly large; the largest was up to forty feet long. There was a close resemblance to the Sarcosuchus back at the park; they had the same armoured body, short, powerful limbs and long, heavy tail that characterised crocodiles. However, rather than the Sarcosuchus' sandy yellow scales, these were a greenish grey in colour, becoming darker on the back and lighter on the under belly. Also, unlike the Sarcosuchus' long, thin snout, they had the short, broad snout of an alligator. Drew smiled, "Deinosuchus. Guys, we've just found our targets." Cynthia turned to Drew, "So, what do we do?"

Drew turned to her and smiled, "We've got the crocs and the Parasaurolophus both in the same place; that means we could, hopefully, get two species for the price of one. All we need to do is wait". As they watched the herd, a young Parasaurolophus, having strayed slightly from the others was drinking from the lake.

Suddenly, the water churned and the young hadrosaur was grabbed in a pair of crocodilian jaws, as the enormous form of a Deinosuchus came erupting out of the water. The herd, panicked, stampeded away from the lakeside. Drew, not wanting to miss the opportunity that this afforded, turned to his team and yelled, "Now!". Leon and Cynthia began to set up the portal in the direction the herd was stampeding, before Drew pressed the button and the portal whirred into life. Not changing their course, the entire herd stampeded through the portal, into the present.

Drew turned back to the lake; the Deinosuchus had got away. He sighed, "Damn". Leon walked up to Drew and asked, "What's the plan now?" Drew sighed and looked around; the sun was setting and it wouldn't really be safe looking for Deinosuchus at night. He breathed out, "We make camp."


	70. Every Golden Scale Part 3

In Prehistoric Texas, Drew, Cynthia and Leon had made camp by the shore of the lake they had seen the Deinosuchus on. However, before they turned in, they made what they would use to catch the giant crocodiles the next morning. They stood in front of a long, double row of wooden posts, leading from the lake. These posts culminated in a "blind end" of three wooden posts. Drew, turned to his team, smiling, "Right, here's the plan! We put bait in at the blind end and lure some Deinosuchus out of the water and up the stockade. When they reach the blind end, we'll set up the portal, sending them back to the park!". Leon looked, flabbergasted, and said, "Planning is just effortless with you, isn't it?" Drew smirked, "Yup!" His face then became a little nervous, "Now, let's turn in; it's not going to be safe sitting out here in the dark. Leon, you've got first watch." Drew and Cynthia headed off to their tents, Leon watching them as they went.

A few hours later... "We've got visitors!"

Leon's shout awoke Drew and Cynthia, who instantly began readying themselves for some prehistoric threat. Leon's shout was followed by a series of loud, barking caws, eerily similar to those of the Mei long back at the park; some predator had found them. When they got out of their tents, they saw what had alarmed their teammate. A pack of small, bipedal dinosaurs were standing around the tent, tearing up the bait bag.

There was a similarity in appearance between these dinosaurs and the Mei long back at the park; they had the same curious-looking, forward facing amber eyes, long snout and taloned feet with a sickle-shaped claw on the second toe. However, these were slightly larger, at about seven feet long, their muzzle was slightly longer and their bodies were covered in greyish-brown feathers, except for the snout. The dinosaurs all turned to the humans and hissed.

Drew knew what they were, "Troodon. They're scavengers; they must have been attracted by the bait bag." Leon turned to Drew and said, "What do we do about them? They've already eaten most of the meat." Drew sighed, "We can salvage something from this." Drew passed Leon the portal remote and slowly walked towards the pack of Troodon. As he approached the theropods, they began snarling at him. When he got close enough, he grabbed the bait bag and began to pull it away from the dinosaurs. The nearest Troodon grabbed the bait bag with its teeth and a tug-of-war ensued. Drew turned to Leon and yelled, "Now!". Leon pressed the button on the portal remote and the portal whirred into life. The Troodon let go of the bag in surprise, allowing Drew to grab the bag and carry it with him as he ran towards the portal, the entire Troodon pack following him it. At the last moment, he jumped out of the way, with the bag, causing the entire Troodon pack to dive through the portal. When the last had gone through, Drew nodded to Leon, who pressed the button and the portal closed. Drew turned to his team, smiling, and said "Well, wasn't that a visit to remember?". Leon checked the bait bag and said, "There's not enough meat here to lure a Deinosuchus. We may need to find other means of bait." Drew sighed, "Let's head back to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning".

Meanwhile, back at the park, Jack and Collete were standing outside the Velociraptor's now-empty paddock with Nikolai, Kyle and six other keeping and security personnel. Jack asked, "Refresh my memory; how did this happen?" Nikolai breathed out and stated, "An hour ago, there was a locking failure in the door lock of the Velociraptor paddock." Collete snorted, "That's been happening a lot lately." Nikolai nodded, before continuing, "Whilst our personnel managed to get the paddock doors closed, the entire pack of Velociraptor escaped before we could close the door." Jack sighed, "So we've got to track them all down…" Kyle nodded grimly, "Yup."

Following the tracks the raptors had left took them to a forest near Raptor Territory. As they headed deeper, creatures would move through the shrubs periodically. They took this as a sign the raptors were nearby, so they pressed on.

Eventually, the team reached a clearing. They looked around cautiously; after all, the raptors could have been anywhere. Jack turned to Kyle, "Where are they?", to which the head keeper shrugged, "Be damned if I know. But we tracked them here. Something isn't right…" Sudddenly, the bushes rustled all around them and a Velociraptor's barking caw echoed through the clearing. The team looked at each other, with a shock realisation; the raptors had led them into the clearing. The whole Velociraptor pack burst out from several different angles, surrounding them. The raptors sniffed hesistantly, as if deciding whether or not to attack. Kyle turned to the team, "No sudden movements." However, Nikolai turned to Collete and nodded. Collete nodded in reply and slowly lifted her tranq gun towards the nearest raptor. There was a brief moment's hesistation, before she fired, hitting the raptor in the chest. The rest of the pack scattered, whilst the raptor Collete had hit loped forward, as if in a drunken stupor, before collapsing.

The element of surprise lost, Kyle facepalmed, turned to the team and yelled, "Hurry! Pick them off before they get away!" In response, Nikolai raised his tranq rifle and, in the blink of an eye, managed to tranquillise a raptor that ran past him with a single shot. Looking at him, Kyle lifted his tranq gun and darted a raptor at the edge of the clearing. A couple of seconds later, another member of the team had darted another raptor. That left two.

Looking at what was going on, Jack raised his tranq gun at the nearest raptor, at point-blank range, and fired… totally missing the raptor and nearly hitting Collete. Kyle walked up to Jack and grabbed his tranq gun, "Give me that before you hurt someone!" Taking Jack's tranq gun, Kyle fired at the raptor Jack had missed, hitting it successfully. The raptor walked a few steps and collapsed. Kyle turned round to see that Nikolai had darted the last raptor.

With the entire Velociraptor pack tranquillised, the task now turned to transporting them back to their enclosures. This involved picking the entire pack up, carrying them in veterinary stretchers and putting them in the back of the containment truck at the edge of the clearing.

When this was done, Jack turned to the team and said, "The Code Red is officially stood down!", before chuckling triumphantly, Suddenly, Will Darrow's voice screamed into their walkie-talkies, "Hello! Can anyone hear me? This is urgent!" Kyle picked up the communicator, "This is Kyle. What's the problem?". Will said in response, "Where the hell are you guys?! Don't you know what's hap-?!" Kyle said, "We've been tracking the Velociraptors; a failure in the door locking system led to the whole pack escaping. We've manages to recapture them and we're bringing them back to their paddock now." Will's voice yelled over the communicator, "That's not a priority at the moment! I don't know how it happened, but-!" Kyle went, irritably, "Will! Calm down! What's happened?" Will sighed, and his voice lowered, "The door locking on the Tarbosaurus paddock failed. We managed to get it closed, but… one of the Tarbosaurus escaped and we don't know where it is." The team all looked at each other, and Jack said, "What do we do?" Kyle sighed; this day couldn't get any worse.

Meanwhile, in Cretaceous Texas, Drew was rudely awakened by a loud, agonised honking sound. This sound was then followed by a series of loud roars. Curious, Drew exited his tent, got dresse and headed outside. When he looked out, he knew what had caused the noise.

On a sandbank a short distance away from them, a pack of Albertosaurus had surrounded a Parasaurolophus. Two of the Albertosaurus were recognisable, as the males that had attacked the Jeep. The Parasaurolophus was already bleeding and exhausted; the chase had clearly been going on for several hours.

The injured hadrosaur attempted to use the last of its strength to make a break for it; however, it was intercepted by a particularly fast Albertosaurus, which brought it down with a single bite to the neck. As it bellowed weakly, the other tyrannosaurs surrounded it and began ripping chunks of the carcass.

As this happened, Leon and Cynthia joined Drew to witness the gory spectacle. They kept their distance; they knew better than to get between a predator and its meal. Leon turned to Drew and said, "What's the plan?" Drew shrugged, "I don't know. Let's wait and see what happens…" Suddenly, a loud bellow came from the lake, followed by a low hiss. The Albertosaurus turned to the source of the sound and roared in displeasure.

Three Deinosuchus were emerging from the lake; they wanted the kill and were ready to take it by force if necessary. The Albertosaurus, not wanting a fight, chose to make a retreat. Drew, not wanting to miss the opportunity this afforded, set up the portal in the direction the pack were running in. Not changing their course, the pack ran through the portal, into the present. The Deinosuchus ignored the escaping theropods and dragged the Parasaurolophus carcass

Drew turned to his team, smiling, "And who says we're always unlucky?" He turned to look at the giant crocodiles, still occupied with their dead hadrosaur. "And, besides", he smirked, "I think I know how to solve our bait problem."


	71. Every Golden Scale Part 4

In Cretaceous Texas, Drew stood in the blind end, explaining his plan to Cynthia and Leon. "For this, I'm going to use myself as bait. I'm going to run out onto the lake and attract them to shore, before running out of the water and towards the stockade; I can easily outrun a Deinosuchus, When I get to the blind end, you guys set up the portal and send them back to the park. Any questions?". Leon raised his hand and said, "Aside from pointing out how utterly reckless and death-defying this particular stunt is…" Drew waved him off, "Duly noted and ignored."

Drew walked out onto the lake and waded until he was hip-deep in the water. Then he began hitting the surface of the water with the paddle, hoping that the vibrations would attract the Deinosuchus. After a few minutes, he was proven right when a group Deinosuchus began swimming towards him. As they got closer he moved further and further back, before he ran out on to land, towards the stockade, with the Deinosuchus in hot pursuit. As they entered the stockade, they turned to single file, with Drew managing to keep one step ahead of them. When he reached the blind end, Drew yelled at Cynthia and Leon, "Set up the portal!" As Drew ran through the posts at the blind end, the two scrambled to the end of the stockade, pressed the button and the portal whirred into life. The first Deinosuchus, not even changing its path, walked through the portal, into the present, as did the next and the next one after it. Drew sighed in relief; this was easier than he thought it would have been.

However, the last Deinosuchus veered slightly to the left, breaking two of the posts at the stockade's blind end. Drew's eyes widened in horror; if it managed to break through the posts, it would attack them. Drew indicated that Cynthia turn off the portal and ran over to the posts, grabbing them and trying to keep them upright; Leon ran over to join him. The Deinosuchus continued to snap and hiss in frustration as Drew and Leon attempted to keep the panels upright. Whilst this was happening, Drew gestured to Cynthia to get to the Jeep; attaching the three poles at the end of the stockade to the Jeep, she revved up the engine and pulled away the three poles. Drew and Leon dived out of the way as the Deinosuchus charged through the gap. Drew pointed the portal remote in its direction and the portal whirred into life; not changing its trajectory, the Deinosuchus went through, into the present. Drew turned to his team and smiled, "Job done. Let's get back to the park." After packing everything up, they drove through the Jeep, into the portal…

The first thing they heard when they left the portal were the shouts of their colleagues; however, these weren't shouts of joy, but rather fear. Everyone was panicking. Confused, the team looked at each other. Drew walked up to Will and asked, "What's going on?" Will turned to him and practically screamed, "Something big's just happened! A Tarbosaurus has escaped!" The calmer Nikolai took over the conversation, "About forty minutes ago, we received a communication Drew looked at them both and said, "I'll go and find it." Leon suddenly interjected, "I'm coming with you. You might need help." Drew gave him a puzzled look, "What do you mean, 'help'?" Ignoring him, Leon looked purposefully at Nikolai, "First we need to stop off at Theropod Kingdom. I need to get a few things." Nikolai looked at him; he knew what Leon meant. "Alright, here's where the Tarbosaurus was last seen…"

A few minutes later, Drew and Leon were sitting in a park Jeep, with three park containment trucks, each containing an allosaur behind him. As he walked around, he explained his plan to Drew, "This is a basic scent drill. We've done this a billion times, only this time the lure's a little bit bigger. When they find it – and they will find it – they're going to herd it back to its paddock." Drew clapped his hands, "Sorted." Leon jumped out of the Park jeep in front of the containment trucks, carrying a towel enriched with Tarbosaurus scent. He walked down the line, offering the scent to Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion, who sniffed eagerly. In their crates, they began to buck and screech, eager to find the source of the smell. Once he was done, Leon got in the Jeep with Drew, who revved the engine.

Nikolai, Kyle, Jack and Collete were sitting in the control room, watching all this happen. Nikolai said, "Incredible. This might actually work", whilst Jack said to Collete, "You didn't really believe it, did you? When he said he was going to do this? Well, here he is."

Leon held his hand up to signal to the keepers driving the trucks; all the keepers put their fingers on the buttons that would release the allosaurs. Leon lowered his hand and the keepers pressed the buttons, opening the trucks.

The Allosaurus burst out, searching for their target, with Drew and Leon following in the Jeep.

In the Jeep, Drew and Leon sped up, joining the three running allosaurs, a pack on the hunt. They reached a clearing in the forest, and the allosaurs slowed down, lowering their heads to the ground. Drew turned to Leon quietly, "They've found something." Leon nodded, "I know." Standing in the clearing, about 200 metres away, was the unmistakeable form of the Tarbosaurus.

Leon whistled quietly to Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion, who tensed, awaiting the order from their alpha. Leon raised his hand, making sure that all three of the theropods could see him, and lowered it, before saying "Get it". The Tarbosaurus only had time for a single growl of outrage as the Allosaurus ran into the clearing, splitting up and running in a circle around the larger theropod, blocking off its retreat.

The Allosaurus had the larger theropod surrounded. Suddenly, the Tarbosaurus lashed out at Viserion, who nimbly jumped back and dodged its blows. Whilst the larger theropod was distracted, Rhaegal darted out and snapped at its feet. They repeated this process for half an hour; every time they did it, the Tarbosaurus moved a little further forward, out of the clearing. The Tarbosaurus growled in indignation, and ran off. The Allosaurus followed it, snapping at its heels like sheepdogs. Every time the Tarbosaurus attempted to move in a certain direction, the allosaurs would block its path, steering it out of the clearing. Drew and Leon went on ahead in the Jeep, with Leon giving cues to Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion.

After about an hour, the chase had taken them to the gate of the Tarbosaurus paddock at Theropod Kingdom. Leon raised his hand and said, "Leave", to which the allosaurs backed off from their target, and nodded to the keepers standing on the walkway above the paddock, who dropped a large chunk of meat in the paddock. The Tarbosaurus, having smelt the meat, dived through the open paddock door; once the Tarbosaurus entered the paddock, the door closed fully. Leon let out a sigh of relief, raised his communicator and said, "Nikolai? The Code Red is officially stood down." Nikolai, Kyle, Jack and Collete, watching from the control room, sighed in relief.

With that done, it was time to get the animals to their new homes.

Soon, all the Cretaceous Texas creatures had been transferred to their new homes. The Troodons had been moved to a paddock in Raptor Territory and were currently napping in the shade of a large tree, waiting for food to arrive. The Albertosaurus pack had been moved into a large paddock in Theropod Kingdom and were currently roaming their territory, waiting for their next meal. Meanwhile, the Deinosuchus were being kept in Mesozoic Tropics, in a river next to the Sarcosuchus; the two floats of giant crocodiles were currently engaged in a contest to out-roar each other.

The Nyctosaurus had been transferred to a new aviary in the pterosaur section, themed after a Cretaceous coastline. They were now flying around, exploring their new home. And the Parasaurolophus had been transferred to Mesozoic Safaris to join the eclectic mix of herbivores there. The herd had been transported in the park's large containment trucks.

Leon, meanwhile, was enjoying the fact that everyone now had faith in his allosaur training programme. Even the most sceptical people had been won over by the Tarbosaurus incident. Leon smiled; he felt proud that it had been a success. Not because of any boost to his ego (although there was a bit of that), but that he knew that the park was safe for the future. If a mass containment failure occurred, and some giant carnivore ended up running riot, these could stop it.

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth**

 **The team go back to Cretaceous Kansas**

 **(A large, penguin-like bird hisses at Adrian)**

 **On their most perilous mission yet**

 **(A giant mosasaur grabs a shark)**

 **To save the deadliest marine predators ever**

 **(A group of mosasaurs surround Drew)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: The Wavering Gulfs!**

Animals rescued:

Albertosaurus sarchophagus: 5 (2 males, 3 females)

Deinosuchus riograndensis (3 males, 2 males)

Nyctosaurus gracilis: 5 (3 males, 2 females)

Parasaurolophus tubicen: 39 (15 males, 24 females)

Troodon formosus: 4 (2 males, 2 females)

However…

In a secluded part of the park, Cynthia lifted her communicator to her ear and said, "I'm here, boss." The person on the other end of the line said something, to which she responded, "Status update; nobody's found me out yet. And there's been quite a few… "new developments" since our last contact." She sighed, "Leon has been training three of the Allosaurus for quite some time now. They had their 'first mission' today, when a Tarbosaurus 'escaped'; the allosaurs succeeded in recapturing it." There was a pause, and Cynthia nodded, as the person on the other end said something. She responded with, "Oh, I wouldn't worry; this incident might have been a fluke." At this, she paused. " _Might_ have been. However, I'll keep an eye on the situation; it could cause us some real problems in the future."

Cynthia sighed, before continuing, "In other news, we had a safety audit, which, despite an incident with the Borealosaurus, we managed to pass. Which reminds me… Remember the Jack Denham I was telling you about? Somewhat disappointingly, he's not who we were expecting him to be, so we can forget about that…" At this statement, Cynthia paused, to allow the person on the other end to speak, before speaking again, "Yes, I know. Continue my infiltration until further instructions and make sure I don't get compromised in that period. After all… you're the boss." She put down the communicator and walked out.


	72. A Prelude: Out of The Poisonous East

_Out of the poisonous East,_

 _Over a continent of blight,_

 _Like a maleficent Influence released_

 _From the most squalid cellerage of hell,_

 _The Wind-Fiend, the abominable-_

 _The Hangman Wind that tortures temper and light-_

 _Comes slouching, sullen and obscene,_

 _Hard on the skirts of the embittered night;_

 _And in a cloud unclean_

 _Of excremental humours, roused to strife_

 _By the operation of some ruinous change,_

 _Wherever his evil mandate run and range,_

 _Into a dire intensity of life,_

 _A craftsman at his bench, he settles down_

 _To the grim job of throttling London Town._

 _So, by a jealous lightlessness beset_

 _That might have oppressed the dragons of old time_

 _Crunching and groping in the abysmal slime,_

 _A cave of cut-throat thoughts and villainous dreams,_

 _Hag-rid and crying with cold and dirt and wet,_

 _The afflicted City. prone from mark to mark_

 _In shameful occultation, seems_

 _A nightmare labryrinthine, dim and drifting,_

 _With wavering gulfs and antic heights, and shifting,_

 _Rent in the stuff of a material dark,_

 _Wherein the lamplight, scattered and sick and pale,_

 _Shows like the leper's living blotch of bale:_

 _Uncoiling monstrous into street on street_

 _Paven with perils, teeming with mischance,_

 _Where man and beast go blindfold and in dread,_

 _Working with oaths and threats and faltering feet_

 _Somewhither in the hideousness ahead;_

 _Working through wicked airs and deadly dews_

 _That make the laden robber grin askance_

 _At the good places in his black romance,_

 _And the poor, loitering harlot rather choose_

 _Go pinched and pined to bed_

 _Than lurk and shiver and curse her wretched way_

 _From arch to arch, scouting some threepenny prey._

 _Forgot his dawns and far-flushed afterglows,_

 _His green garlands and windy eyots forgot,_

 _The old Father-River flows,_

 _His watchfires cores of menace in the gloom,_

 _As he came oozing from the Pit, and bore,_

 _Sunk in his filthily transfigured sides,_

 _Shoals of dishonoured dead to tumble and rot_

 _In the squalor of the universal shore:_

 _His voices sounding through the gruesome air_

 _As from the Ferry where the Boat of Doom_

 _With her blaspheming cargo reels and rides:_

 _The while his children, the brave ships,_

 _No more adventurous and fair,_

 _Nor tripping it light of heel as home-bound brides,_

 _But infamously enchanted,_

 _Huddle together in the foul eclipse,_

 _Or feel their course by inches desperately,_

 _As through a tangle of alleys murder-haunted,_

 _From sinister reach to reach out - out - to sea._

 _And Death the while -_

 _Death with his well-worn, lean, professional smile,_

 _Death in his threadbare working trim-_

 _Comes to your bedside, unannounced and bland,_

 _And with expert, inevitable hand_

 _Feels at your windpipe, fingers you in the lung,_

 _Or flicks the clot well into the labouring heart:_

 _Thus signifying unto old and young,_

 _However hard of mouth or wild of whim,_

 _'Tis time - 'tis time by his ancient watch - to part_

 _From books and women and talk and drink and art._

 _And you go humbly after him_

 _To a mean suburban lodging: on the way_

 _To what or where_

 _Not Death, who is old and very wise, can say:_

 _And you - how should you care_

 _So long as, unreclaimed of hell,_

 _The Wind-Fiend, the insufferable,_

 _Thus vicious and thus patient, sits him down_

 _To the black job of burking London Town?_

 _London Voluntaries IV: Out Of The Poisonous East_ – William Ernest Henley


	73. Dragons of the Abysmal Slime Trailer

Trailer Music: New World Coming by Disa

(shot of the Earth rotating in black and white, whilst sombre music plays)

 _There's a new world coming_

(3 second shot of the desolate Cretaceous Montana landscape)

 _And it's just around the bend_

(shot of Drew watching as the meteorite hits the Earth)

 _There's a new world coming_

(shot of Jack looking around a clearing, as something rises up behind him)

 _This one's coming to an end_

(shot of Leon surrounded by Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion)

 _There's a new voice calling_

(shot of Adrian throwing fish to a Pteranodon on board a boat)

 _You can hear it if you try_

(shot of Alice dodging a shark that swims past her)

 _And it's growing stronger_

(shot of Cynthia trying to restrain a giant crocodile)

 _With each day that passes by_

(Shot of Drew and a Tyrannosaurus getting knocked into a cave by the blast front)

(cut to black)

 _There's a brand new morning_

(Sharptooth fighting an old male Ankylosaurus)

 _Rising clear and sweet and free_

(Cut to Sharptooth headbutting another male Tyrannosaurus towards the edge of a cliff)

 _There's a new day dawning_

(A Velociraptor stands in the night and growls at the camera, before running off)

 _That belongs to you and me_

(Three allosaurs circle a Tyrannosaurus, who roars in response)

 _Yes, a new world's coming_

(A mosasaur rams the boat Drew and Cynthia are on)

 _Yes, a new world's coming_

(a herd of herbivorous dinosaurs surround a crashed Jeep, containing Drew)

 _It's coming in peace, coming in joy_

(An Allosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus roar at each other)

 _Coming in peace, coming in joy_

(A Tyrannosaurus roars at an Argentinosaurus, who bellows in response)

 _Coming in peace, coming in joy_

(Red stands in front of Jack protectively and hisses at something off-camera)

 _Coming in love_

(Jack and Collete stand on a platform, as Sharptooth looms behind them, before he strikes, narrowly missing them)

 _There's a new world coming_

(A herd of dinosaurs, and several transport trucks, rushing towards the portal with a blast front behind them)

 _And it's just around the bend_

(Adrian doing the same in a glider with several pterosaurs, including Keehar)

 _There's a new world coming_

(A herd of herbivorous dinosaurs roar at a Tyrannosaurus)

 _This one's coming to an end_

(Two Albertosaurus roar at a Giganotosaurus)

 _There's a new voice calling_

(Two Velociraptors circle an Ornithocheirus, who screeches at them in response)

 _You can hear it if you try_

(Red screeches at an Allosaurus)

 _Coming in peace, coming in joy,_

(Lightning bellows at a Giganotosaurus)

 _Coming in peace, yeah, coming in joy_

(Drew being sent flying into a wall)

 _Coming in peace, coming in joy_

(Zoom out of two Tyrannosaurus roaring at each other, before charging head-on)

 _Coming in peace_

(Cut to black)

(Shot of the Prehistoric Earth logo).


	74. The Wavering Gulfs Part 1

_**The young female tyrannosaur followed the scent of the carcass. With her were her two siblings; a male and a female. Clutchmates, they had struck out together as a coalition for mutual protection and hunting success. Now, they were sniffing out a familiar scent; a scent that might lead to food. The hunting had been meagre recently; any scent that might lead to food was a good one.**_

 _ **The trail ended at the carcass of an old Edmontosaurus; a casualty of the extended drought. The three practically salivated; this was enough meat to feed them for weeks. In a dying world you had to take what you could get. However, the three subadults paused. They could smell someone else coming.**_

 _ **Suddenly, there was a low growl and a gigantic Tyrannosaurus walked out of the mist. He was a male; however, he was bigger than any other tyrannosaur the three siblings had seen. His body was covered in scars; the relics of previous fights, with the most notable were the scars that disfigured one side of his face, and he walked with the slightest limp. His eyes were deep red; a sign of age. He walked towards the hadrosaur carcass, put one foot on it and snarled; an invitation to retreat.**_

 _ **Normally, mere posturing would have been sufficient; the three subadults would have backed off at this older male's superior strength. However, in this world, every carcass was something worth fighting over. Sometimes to the death.**_

 _ **Her brother made for the stranger's leg, hoping to catch him off guard and injure him. But you didn't get as old as the male had by being stupid. The old male lifted his foot and delivered a powerful kick to her brother's chest, sending him flying against some rocks, against which he impacted violently. He fell to the ground, dead; the blow had broken his neck.**_

 _ **The young female and her sister screeched in outrage at this, and her sister dived for the old male, jaws open. However, the old male had both size and experience on his side. The young female watched as he grabbed her sister by the neck and bit down. Her screeches wavered before she went limp. The male let go of her throat and threw her to the ground. She was dead; the bite had crushed her windpipe.**_

 _ **The young female, now the sole survivor, looked at the killed bodies of her siblings.**_

 _ **This sibling coalition had been temporary; an association of convenience. Soon would have come a time where the band would have disintegrated and the siblings gone to look for mates of their own. Her link to her siblings was tenuous. And yet she felt a strange and powerful loss. She looked back at the killer, now feasting on the dead hadrosaur, and turned and ran into the desert.**_

 _ **For the first time in her life, she was alone.**_

 _ **The large male watched her retreat. He did not begrudge her for it; nor would he waste effort pursuing the retreating female. What would have been the point? He had all he desired.**_

 _ **There had been nothing truly cruel in the male's actions. Killing the other two tyrannosaurs had not been done out of malice or sadism; the hadrosaur carcass was all he had been after. However, in a brutal world, you had to be brutal yourself. Every carcass was something worth fighting over; to the death, if necessary.**_

 _ **He returned to the dead hadrosaur and resumed feeding, putting the escaping survivor out of sight and out of mind. Besides, if there wasn't sufficient on the hadrosaur carcass, there were two untouched Tyrannosaurus carcasses to spare. In a dying world, any carcass was a potential food source.**_

 _ **All stories have a beginning…**_

Drew was sitting in his office, waiting for his team. This was the first time in literally ages that the whole team could go on the mission. Due to both the scale of the mission and the fact that no-one had any other commitments, it had been decided it was all hands on deck.

Suddenly, he heard someone clearing their throat and a voice saying "We're here, boss. He turned to see Leon Gilbertson, Cynthia Night, Adrian Sky (accompanied by Rhamphorynchus Keehar) and Jack and Alice Denham entering the room. "Where were you guys?", Drews asked, puzzled, "You were supposed to be here five minutes ago". In response, they rolled their eyes and Jack replied, "We all had things to do, that's why we were late. Anyway, what are we going after?"

Drew looked at them and cleared his throat, ""The Late Cretaceous oceans were home to a great diversity of marine animals," Drew explained, flicking through pages of the file. "These included some of the deadliest marine predators of all time; the place has even been called Hell's Aquarium. The best fossils of the time have been found in a place in Kansas called the Nioabra Shale, which happens to be one of the best marine fossil sites in the world. That's where we're going today. The Mariner's ready; we're ready to set off."

And, so, they headed to the portal site. When they got there, Leon and Drew were surprised to see Collete standing on the walkway; however, Jack simply smiled, "Dropped by to see me off?" Collete rolled her eyes, walked up to them and said, "I came to wish you good luck on the mission today." After a brief pause, she said, "All of you", as if to clarify that she wasn't meaning anyone specific. An employee entered the time period and location and the portal whirred into life. The team boarded the Ancient Mariner. As the boat headed towards the portal, Jack suddenly heard Collete shouting from the walkway, "Oh, and Jack? Promise me you'll be careful." Jack nodded to her, and the Ancient Mariner sailed through.

The Mariner emerged from the portal. The team looked out at the vista; they'd landed in a bay. The sea was calm, the tide was low and the waves lapped gently on a nearby beach; she could see the indistinct forms of creatures prowling the shoreline. There was no sound, aside from the lapping of the waves and the harsh calls of a distant pterosaur. It looked, for all in the world, like the coast of Patagonia; far from what it would look like over 75 million years in the future. It was a tranquil image of peace and serenity; the team stared out and sighed at the beautiful vista before them. Anyway, back to business. Drew turned to his team, "Before we head out into deep water, we're going to bring back some animals from the shallows; on the coast, I'm hoping we run into one animal in particular. Jack, Adrian, you're with me." Drew turned to Leon and said, "Leon, you're in charge until we get back."

The bird looked like a cross between a penguin and a loon, with the former's reduced wings and the latter's large, paddle-like feet. It was covered in dark grey feathers, with a lighter underbelly. The face was largely red and there was a large, yellow, toothy beak. Drew knew what it was immediately, "Hesperornis. A kind of flightless bird found in this area. They're flightless, like penguins, but they're not as cute." Jack asked, "Another question; how are we going to get this lot through the portal?" Drew smiled at him, "Oh, ye of little faith… I've got a plan. Jack… get the bait bag."

Following Drew's instructions, Jack grabbed the bait bag, filled with fish, and emptied some of it onto the lake shore. The birds sniffed the air, and dived towards the pile of fish with a speed that belied their ungainly appearance. When they had gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal and the Hesperornis, moving as if a single entity, dived through the portal, into the present.

Jack, grinning wildly after the events, turned to Drew and asked, "Now, fearless leader, what do we do next?" Drew said, "We head back to the Mariner. Leon just called; apparently, they've seen something."

On the Mariner, Leon was explaining precisely what they had seen, "We saw an incredibly large patch of blood out in the shallows. We think some predator had a bit of a killing spree out there; it's probably attracted a lot of the coastal predators." Drew smirked, "Then we know where we're stopping off; Alice, you're with me."

The pair got into the lifeboat and sailed out towards the bloodbath. Grabbing a periscope, they looked into the water, to see what was going on. It was chaos; predators were swimming in all directions. Close to the source of the bloodbath, a small shark, only about six feet long, swam past. It looked like a miniature great white, with a grey back and a white underbelly. Drew nodded, "That's Squalicorax; a common kind of shark in this region.

The shark suddenly swam away, as a fish some twenty feet long swam past, with a dead Hesperornis in its mouth. Now, Drew and Alice were not ones to hold prejudice towards any animal, but the nicest way to describe the fish was "fantastically ugly". It had an upturned, bulldog-like face, with protruding, interlocking teeth; it had a long, muscular body and a forked tail, meaning that it was, probably a powerful swimmer. It had a small dorsal fin, a large pectoral fin and smaller back fins. It was a blue-black in colouration, with lighter stripes and a orange stripe running down the side and a grey underbelly. Drew chuckled, "That's Xiphactinus; face only a mother could love, eh?"

As the Xiphactinus swam off, another creature ghosted past the bloodbath; it was some thirteen feet long and had a sandy brown colouration. It had a vaguely crocodilian head and pointed, tooth-filled jaws. Its limbs were large flippers and the tail was long and fluked. Its body was long and vaguely serpentine. Alice turned to Drew, "I'm guessing that's a mosasaur." Drew nodded, "Yup. Halisaurus to be precise. Time for us to go down; the Hesperornis corpses are only going to keep them occupied for so long."


	75. The Wavering Gulfs Part 2

_**A long sonorous bellow echoed through the forest. This was the mating call of a female Tyrannosaurus. The female Tyrannosaurus, now fully grown, was calling for a mate. Pairs of Tyrannosaurus normally had large territories, which they defended diligently. However, finding a mate could take quite some time. However, this oasis was the last green spot for miles and had become a magnet for animals from miles around; the drought had worsened over the years and the herbivores had congregated around the nearest available sources of food and water. And with them came the predators.**_

 _ **Like all predators, population density in Tyrannosaurus was dependent on food availability. Nevertheless, pairs of Tyrannosaurus would still normally maintain exclusive home ranges, normally of several tens of square kilometres, excluding all outsiders. However, this was the only green spot for miles; every tyrannosaur in the vicinity would be headed to the area, drawn by the abundance of prey.**_

 _ **Others had already arrived. Ever since arriving here, the young female had smelt the scent marks of a larger, older male. However, from his scent, she could tell he was too old to reproduce. The older male was also unaware of the fact that he had an interloper in his territory; Tyrannosaurus were normally fiercely territorial and would violently drive off interlopers. She avoided him as much as possible; hunting where she knew that she could not be observed. Unbeknownst to either of them, the old male had been the one responsible for killing her siblings all those years ago. However, neither remembered the incident.**_

 _ **She resumed calling; hopefully, she would find a mate soon.**_

Meanwhile, at the bloodbath, Drew and Alice got their diving suits on and dived over the size of the lifeboat. Drew and Alice stared, open-mouthed, at the chaos that greeted them. The predators swam frantically around them, fighting each other over the Hesperornis corpses. Drew turned to Alice and muttered, "This is what must have happened; several Hesperornis were killed and the bloodbath attracted all the local predators. This is like a buffet to them." Suddenly, the predators paused, before turning their attention to the humans watching them.

The predators were curious, sometimes approaching the humans in the shallows. Drew and Alice had to be on constant guard, avoiding snaps from the predators that swam past them. Alice, after narrowly dodging a Squalicorax, which snapped at her hand, turned to Drew and ask, "How are we going to get this lot through the portal, without having our arms bitten off?". Drew shrugged, as he dodged a Xiphactinus' snapping jaws, "I have a plan, and it's a cracker. Grab a Hesperornis corpse". Drew and Alice each swam incredibly close to one of the Hesperornis corpses and each grabbed one; the predators' reverie was interrupted when they realised that someone was trying to take their meat. The predators all dived towards the two humans, before Drew activated the portal and threw the carcasses through. Unchanging their trajectory, the predators all swam through, following the carcasses, moving as if a single entity.

Returning to the Mariner, Drew and Alice had got back up on the boat and removed their diving suits. The mission team were now in the crew room, having a meeting about the incident. Drew addressed everyone, "These predators in the shallows were, comparatively, tiddlers; to find Tylosaurus, and other animals, we'll need to head out into deeper water." Alice gave Drew a puzzled look and said, "We almost got eaten in the shallows; are you sure it'll be safe to dive out there?" Drew nodded, "No, it will not be safe; it's probably going to be very dangerous if we dive out there. However, we've got precautions for that." Jack gave Drew a shocked stare, "You're expecting us to dive in the most dangerous sea ever with nothing but the smell suits we used in the Jurassic?!" Drew shook his head, "No… The plan is that we're going to try avoid diving in ourselves as much as possible. In order to do that, we're going to use an ROV to patrol the waters and see any Tylosaurus. We're also going to use the boat's radar to detect any Tylosaurus in the vicinity. We can also use the starboard camera in order to provide underwater observations, whilst we can use Keehar, if needed, for some airborne observations to help us to know where to go next. Point is, we're only going to dive if it's absolutely necessary.".

Jack said, "So… we're heading out into deeper water in order to find these giant mosasaurs?" Drew smiled "That's precisely what we're going to do; we've been through a lot of things together. I'm sure that we can beat the most dangerous sea ever." The Ancient Mariner rolled into the surf, before turning around and heading out into sea. The search had begun.

As they continued heading out, they noticed that they had company. Several large pterosaurs had started to accompany them. They were large, with the largest having a wingspan of about eighteen feet. Their most distinctive feature was the large conical crest on their heads; however, the larger individuals had the largest crests, with others having crests just half the size. Drew knew what they were immediately, "Pteranodon; the most famous of all the pterosaurs. I was always hoping to bump into these guys. Put some fish on the deck; we're luring them down."

After Jack and Leon had put a trail of fish on the deck and the pterosaurs had landed, Drew set up the portal, and the Pteranodons, moving as if a single entity, went through the portal and into the present. The only exception had been one of the males, who seemed to be fairly content where he was, perched on the boat. Drew sighed; they could send him through later. Besides, the large pterosaur didn't seem particularly eager to leave. Keehar regarded this new, gigantic arrival curiously; he had never seen anything like this before. The Mariner headed into open sea, in search of monsters…


	76. The Wavering Gulfs Part 3

Drew was suddenly awakened by the sound of a bump, followed by the sound of people running around. Running out onto deck, turned to Jack, "What happened?" Jack's voice was frantic, "We must have hit something; maybe a floating rock…" Drew sprinted over to the starboard camera, to see what was showing on the camera. He finished Jack's sentence, "Or a carcass."

Using a net, the carcass was hauled out onto deck and Drew, Jack and Leon were looking at it. The carcass was of a large turtle; by their reckoning, it was some ten feet long and twelve feet wide. It looked like a gigantic leatherback turtle, however, it was a sandy green-brown, as opposed to the black colouration of the modern turtle. Immediately, it was clear it had died a violent death; one of the rear paddles had been ripped off and there were bite marks on the shell. Drew knew what it was immediately, "Archelon; one of the largest turtles of all time. This one probably isn't even fully grown." Jack said, "Looks like it met a foul end; one of the flippers is missing and there's damage to the shell. What could have done that?" Drew shrugged, "Probably a Tylosaurus." Leon said, "The injuries indicate the Archelon was ambushed from underneath, seriously wounded and then turned loose to die. Many predators do that, like sharks. I'm guessing mosasaurs did the same thing too." Jack turned to Drew and, "I'm guessing, fearless leader, that indicates we're on the right track." Drew nodded, "Bingo. We keep heading out. It's a good sign; we're in Tylosaurus territory."

After a few hours, the team stopped the Mariner and looked around the vast expanse of ocean. Drew, Jack and Adrian stood out on the deck and Jack sighed, "It's gonna take us some time to find a Tylosaurus out there, even with the radar and the ROV." Adrian turned to him, smiling, "Which is why we call in special help…"

Drew, Jack and Adrian walked up to Keehar and the Pteranodon, who were sunning themselves on the deck. The Pteranodon, who the team had named Mert, and Keehar had gotten on rather well, spending a lot of time together and sometimes even sleeping against each other. The association was beneficial on Keehar's part; the larger Pteranodon could scare anything that came near off. Walking up to the two pterosaurs, Adrian whistled and Keehar hopped over to him. Adrian lifted a camera and moved towards the Rhamphorynchus.

Ever since the Microrator mission, in which Keehar had been instrumental in helping them escape a volcanic eruption, Adrian had been training Keehar to come when either whistled to or given a vocal command. The aim was that Keehar, with his superior vision, could serve as an "eye in the sky" for the mission team. Part of this procedure involved placing a camera on Keehar's head. Keehar went along with the procedure stoically, even though he didn't like it. Eventually, Adrian clipped the camera onto Keehar's head, flicked his arm out to sea and said "Go high." Keehar chittered in reply and vaulted off the boat, flying about sixty feet in the air (out of the reach of any of the local predators). Keehar scanned the area for about an hour, before returning to the boat. Adrian unclipped the camera from the Rhamphorynchus' head, tickled him under the chin, and gave him a fish.

A short while later, the whole team were surrounding the footage from Keehar's head cam. Most of the footage was unpromising, until a point where Keehar picked up several large animals moving through the water; it was too high to tell what animals they were, but it was a start. Drew turned to Adrian, "Head to those co-ordinates; we'll stand a good chance of finding whatever those animals were."

The Ancient Mariner turned into the surf and headed towards the co-ordinates. Drew stood on the deck and looked out to sea; it was amazing as to how truly little the ocean changed over the eons. The vista of 75 million years ago was near-identical to the one today; only instead of whales, seals and gannets, there were mosasaurs, plesiosaurs and Pteranodon. The same roles, just different actors. Suddenly, Leon's voice called out from the bridge, "Drew! We've found something on the starboard cam." Running in, Drew saw the rest of the team standing by the starboard camera, smilling. Drew turned to Jack and asked, "Have we found some Tylosaurus?" Jack smiled, "Not exactly", and they parted, allowing Drew to look at the starboard camera. What he saw amazed him; several large animals were swimming right by the boat.

It looked like a gigantic version of the Cryptoclidus back at the park, with counter-shaded, leathery skin, a long neck and a small head and large flippers. Drew looked at the creatures swimming past, "It's Elasmosaurus; a kind of plesiosaur", he told everyone. "Largely a fish-eater; not too dangerous, but it shouldn't be taken too lightly. They must be riding the wake, like dolphins." Suddenly, a large turtle glided past the Elasmosaurus; the team recognised it immediately. Drew smiled, "That's an Archelon; a living one.". Drew turned to his team and said "Right, that settles it; we're going down ourselves. Cynthia, you're with me. Jack, tell us if anything else is coming our way." Cynthia nodded, turned on her heels and headed off to put on her diving suit.

The pair got into the lifeboat and sailed out towards the location. Up close, they could see details on the Elasmosaurus that they hadn't been able to see before. They got their diving suits on and dived over the side of the lifeboat. Once they had plunged into the water, they noticed Elasmosaurus swimming all around them.

Up close, they could see details that they hadn't been able to discern before. Their skin was counter-shaded and leathery; some of the older individuals had scars on their bodies, from earlier encounters with predators. had a long neck and a small, broad, flattened head, with long jaws equipped with hundreds of small, sharp interlocking teeth (some in the form of paired fangs). Their limbs were large flippers; they were perfectly adapted to the life aquatic. Whilst the larger Elasmosaurus paid no attention to them, the younger ones were being rather playful and inquisitive. The juveniles were swimming close, but keeping their distance; some of them even allowed themselves to be petted, curious at these new creatures. It seemed that the plesiosaurs had instantly noticed the cattle prod she had and approached with caution, not wanting to be on the receiving end of what (to them) was a large, extendable claw.

However, they quickly noticed that the Elasmosaurus were swimming surprisingly fast; even their most determined attempts at speed-snorkelling rendered it near impossible to keep-up. Cynthia sighed, "How are we going to catch up to this lot?" Drew turned to her and smirked, "I have an idea." Drew waited for the nearest Archelon to swim past, before gently alighting onto its shell. When another came swimming past, Cynthia repeated the action. The turtles swam along, sedately, unaware of their new passengers. When they reached the Elasmosaurus and other Archelon and the time came to use the portal, Drew turned it on. The plesiosaurs briefly stared, transfixed at this strange, shining orb, before heading through the portal into the park. Drew and Cynthia released the Archelon they had been "riding" and it, too, swam through the portal.

Meanwhile, back on the boat, Jack, Leon, Alice and Adrian were watching the events from the starboard camera. Keehar and Mert were on the deck feasting on a bucket of fish the team had brought as bait. Jack whooped and said, "Our fearless leader's done it again! This might be the easiest mission we've had yet." Suddenly, the radar beeped, startling all the team members. Leon turned to the radar and said, "Umm, guys…"

Suddenly, something erupted from the water and impacted into the lifeboat.


	77. The Wavering Gulfs Part 4

_**The female Tyrannosaurus continued to send out her low, sonorous mating call through the forest, hoping for any nearby male to hear it. Suddenly, a series of short, deep barks echoed through the forest. She followed the source of the sound to see a male Tyrannosaurus, about the same age as herself, appear out of the mist, standing over the corpse of a subadult Edmontosaurus. She walked towards the carcass and began to feed. The male walked off, allowing her to feed. On this occasion, both have been lucky; she because she had not ended up having to call for days, he because he had been the first male to respond.**_

 _ **The male knew he could not approach the female and mate; that would only lead to more injuries. To solve this, Tyrannosaurus use a ritual called "courtship feeding", in which a male makes a kill and uses the carcass to attract a female. The larger the kill, the more likely the female was to stay and the more likely the male was to mate. As she ate, he advanced towards her, making reassuring coughing sounds. He then sat up, puffing out the red wattle under his chin in an attempt to impress her. However, she opened her mouth wide and hissed – she wasn't ready to accept him yet. He hovered, but she was showing no interest for now. However, soon, she would allow him to stay with her; she would no longer be alone. Having a mate would allow her increased hunting success and an increased protection of territory, eggs and offspring.**_

 _ **In a dying world, it was important to stick together.**_

Drew and Cynthia barely had time to put their diving masks on as the lifeboat they were on was suddenly impacted, knocking them into the water. Once they recovered from their disorientation, they looked around to see themselves surrounded by several, sandy-brown coloured mosasaurs. They looked like gigantic versions of the Haliosaurus from the shallows; the largest must have been forty feet long. Drew knew what they were immediately, "Tylosaurus. Our targets. They must have thought the boat was a turtle." The Tylosaurus were choosing the boat over the humans; the lure of the perceived larger meal outweighed the appeal of attacking these small morsels.

Meanwhile, on the Mariner… "Guys, there's something coming! Hello? Can ANYONE hear me?!", Jack screamed into the communicator, as Leon, Alice and Adrian stood around, looking nervous. The situation was urgent; they needed to warn Drew and Cynthia that several large shapes, presumably Tylosaurus, had been detected on the radar, heading directly towards them. However, something was wrong; their in-suit communicators weren't getting the message. The three looked at each other, worried ; hopefully, they'd get the message.

Back in the water, the Tylosaurus were still occupied with the boat; Drew and Cynthia were not moving. They didn't want to provoke one of the predators into attacking them. There had been an incident when a smaller individual approached and snapped at them, but otherwise they had ignored the two humans. Suddenly, their in-suit communicators hissed and Jack's voice crackled over the radio, "Drew? Drew! There are giant mosasaurs coming towards you and it might be best to-". Drew chuckled, "It's a tad too late for that. We've already met them. They sank the lifeboat." Jack chuckled awkwardly over the communicator, "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, stay where you are; we'll come to you. We have a plan, fearless leader."

The Ancient Mariner sailed towards the upturned lifeboat, following the surfacing tylosaurs. Jack watched the spectacle and said, "Get the dead Archelon out from the hold." Alice looked at her brother, confused, "Why?" Jack turned to her, a smirk on his face, "The tylosaurs attacked the boat because they thought it was a turtle; let's give them a better meal."

Back in the water, Drew and Cynthia were waiting, for whatever plan Jack may have had come up with. Whatever it was, he had to be quick; soon the Tylosaurus would run out of patience with the boat. Suddenly, there was a noise and something very large impacted the water, hitting the water so fast it was, for all intents and purposes, a blur. The mosasaurs turned to look at it and Drew and Cynthia peered at it in confusion; when the bubbles cleared, they could see that it was the dead Archelon they had found. Drew laughed and said, "Jack's using the Archelon as bait! I knew it'd come in handy!"

The tylosaurs turned their attention from the lifeboat to this new, more substantial meal. This gave Drew time to lift the portal remote and point it directly at the carcass, which got sucked through the portal. Unchanging their trajectory, the mosasaurs followed the carcass through the glowing orb, moving as if a single entity. Drew sighed; the adventure was over. Jack's voice crackled over the radio, "We're sending down the shark cage to pick you guys up. After that, fearless leader, I think it's time we all went home." As he said this, the shark cage was lowered into the water, and Drew and Cynthia swam into it. Once they were both in, with Drew closing the door, the shark cage was lifted above water and. Drew walked up to Jack and shook his hand, "Good plan." Jack smiled, "Think nothing of it, fearless leader; you probably would have done the same." Smiling, Drew activated the portal and the Mariner sailed through to the present.

After a while, everyone was at home. The marine reptiles had been transferred to their new accommodation in the aquarium. The Hesperornis and the Archelon were both being kept in large exhibits in The Cove, all of which had land areas for resting and nesting (when the time came); they were either swimming around or basking on the rocks in their exhibits. The Haliosaurus and Xiphactinus were each being kept in large tanks in The Cove; they were all currently exploring their new territory, waiting to be fed. The Elasmosaurus had been given the largest tank in the Cove; they were all currently swimming around, waiting for their next meal. Meanwhile, the Squalicorax were being kept in the aquarium's shark tunnels. It was decided that the Pteranodon could share an aviary with the Nyctosaurus in the pterosaur section, since they were both fish-eaters and unlikely to harm each other; they were exploring their new home, waiting to be fed. The Tylosaurus were being kept in a gigantic exhibit in Hell's Oceans;. They were currently swimming around their new territories, waiting to be fed.

 **Next time on Prehistoric Earth**

 **The team go back to Cretaceous Montana**

 **(A Tyrannosaurus snarls at an Ankylosaurus)**

 **On their most dangerous mission yet**

 **(A pack of dromaeosaurs attack a Jeep)**

 **To save the last of a dying era**

 **(Drew and a Tyrannosaurus watch a meteorite hit the Earth)**

 **All next time on Prehistoric Earth: A Continent of Blight!**

Animals rescued:

Hesperornis regalis: 26 (13 males, 13 females)

Squalicorax falcatus: 16 (9 males, 7 females)

Xiphactinus audax: 31 (14 males, 17 females)

Halisaurus platyspondylus: 8 (4 males, 4 females)

Pteranodon longiceps: 32 (11 males, 21 females)

Elasmosaurus platyurus: 38 (13 males, 25 females)

Archelon ischyros: 17 (5 males, 12 females)

Tylosaurus proriger: 7 (3 males, 4 females)


End file.
